


Dark Horse

by TheRealMrSeahorseman



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horse Racing, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cop Hanzo Shimada, F/F, F/M, Farmer Jesse McCree, Good Parent Reaper | Gabriel Reyes, His name is Forrest Grace, M/M, Reaper | Gabriel Reyes is Jesse McCree's Parent, TW: explicit transphobia in chapter one, Trans Male Character, Young Hanzo Shimada, Young Jesse McCree
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:48:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25683805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRealMrSeahorseman/pseuds/TheRealMrSeahorseman
Summary: It all started with a racehorse.Hanzo and Jesse had never thought that their lives would intersect because of a young black stallion named Reaper, but after an incident at the Ranch Blackwatch - which Shimada had to attend to - the past both on the horse and that of the two young men comes the fore.The horse who almost killed many of their owners will be the reason why McCree founds his reason to live.
Relationships: Genji Shimada/Original Male Character(s), Jesse McCree/Hanzo Shimada, Lúcio Correia dos Santos/Hana "D.Va" Song, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Reaper | Gabriel Reyes/Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison
Comments: 7
Kudos: 26





	1. All Started With a Racehorse

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there and wellcome to my first Overwatch - and English! - work!  
> English it's not my first language, so I'm sorry for eventual mistakes, I'm trying to make this a nice experience for everyone... The title is a Katy Perry's reference, but it's nothing alike the song, I swear.  
> So, have a nice week and enjoy the reading!

It all started with a racehorse.

Hanzo knew he wasn’t just any racehorse as soon as he saw the huge, black-haired animal came in, neighing and kicking almost everyone in his path until they could secure him with the ropes they had brought, they needed at least three big men to be able to contain the creature. The Japanese had never seen such a strong animal in his life. The paddock where the horse was restrained was a joke compared to how much he had run before they were able to arrest him, he managed to run from the cops and cowboys for at least four hours until Morrison's men managed to corner him near a stream that he just couldn't get through because the patrol truck was already stopped there. The horse's name was Reaper, and he was known for his unheroic deeds. Hanzo was afraid of horses and just seeing Reaper's eyes, he understood why everyone feared the animal and why the name was so absurd.

His brother almost died because of a horse and his recklessness a few years ago, for letting Genji compete in that damn rodeo, but what was done was done, and he couldn't change the past - wise words from Miss Amari, the chief department, second only to the police chief. He knew that the horse attacked a man before running away, he didn't even want to see the poor guy's face.

"If one of the brutes touched a millimeter of my horse, I will make you regret it!" shouted a man leaving the passenger side of an old truck, he was holding a cloth in front of his nose and blood was dripping.

"Take it easy, pendejo, did you just take a butt of that beast and want to take a slap from the police?" said a man in a hat getting out of the driver's seat, Hanzo recognized him as Gabriel Reyes, owner of a horse farm.

The horse farm from which the call that Reaper had fled came from.

"I don't damn care, it's my horse and you're going to leave him alone!" snarled the youngest, he had a full beard and medium chocolate hair, Hanzo couldn't deny that he didn't even look a bit attractive.

"Jesse, enough, to the car! I said it was a bad idea to buy that bastard, now you deal with it like an adult!" shouted the elder, Gabriel sighed tiredly and pulled the goatee down as if to pull out "I'm sorry to involve you in that, boy, it's not your fault."

The Japanese tooks a few seconds to realize that they were talking to him.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Mister Reyes, we are used to this type of approach." Hanzo said with just a brief nod "They caught him by the stream, but we need brute force to convince him to come with us."

"This demon is still going to kill someone, I say this by myself." said the old black man pointing the scar over his nose and on the side of his cheek "Jesse is lucky to have been hit by the head and not by the hooves."

"Jesse, huh?" he looks in the direction of the truck, the man with the long hair, he remembered Reyes calling him that "So he was the victim of the devil."

"Yes, if I were to bet on who is the most stubborn, I would not know who to put my money in, the two are two stupid hot heads." sighed the Afro-Latin staring at the animal still kicking and kicking the air furiously. Morrison still hadn't shown his grace until he emerged at the police station door.

"Gabe? I thought you were going to send one of the boys to come and get this plague." asked Chief Morrison with his hands casually tucked in his pockets as he walked towards them.

"And miss the chance to see first hand the bastard who almost left me drinking straw soup for a month in jail as a criminal? No, I don't." laughed humorlessly crossing his arms "He headbutted McCree before running away."

"So that was it." said the chief shaking his head in disbelief "He should give up, he is a hopeless."

"You know who the boy took after him, if it wasn't a hopeless case he wouldn't be being so stubborn." said with a singing smile "Besides, it's kind of hard for him, a year and a half of trial and error and he still just lets Jesse gets closer."

"Did you just come for the horse?" asked moving away from the fence when he saw Jesse backing up with the trailer to transport horses on the fence.

"Of course, you don't have to be so suspicious of everything, darling." he said before a snap reverberated to get everyone's attention, they can only see Chief Morrison's face turning crimson and his expression of mortification and anger bubbling up behind his sunglasses.

"Gabriel, I'm on duty here." Jack snarled, his hands fisted at his sides, Reyes raising his hands in surrender.

"I did nothing." said getting into the truck and pushing Jesse out "Come on, boy, put him in the trailer and let's go home." sent the eldest.

Jesse got out of the truck without contest, went to the tiny paddock where the horse was stuck and jumped over the fence, Hanzo could hear the buzz among his colleagues watching the scene and could clearly hear Zarya and Reinhardt betting on what the horse would do this time, the woman betting 20 bucks that Reaper would headbutter Jesse while the man bet twice as much as the stallion would kick him and put him on his knees until help arrived. But surprisingly, Jesse just reached out and waited for the horse to come to him.

"Did these bad guys do anything to you, champion?" asked reaching out to touch his muzzle, Reaper reluctantly accepted that Jesse touched his muzzle and bit his fingers "No, you know it hurts, no biting."

The horse snorted and pushed Jesse's hand away, climbing the trailer on its own. Hanzo approached his colleagues.

"You both owe me sixty." said while the two looked at each other in disbelief, Hanzo shrugged "Nobody bet that nothing would happen."

"Smart ass." said Zaryanova, giving Hanzo a twenty. As soon as he was half in tow, Reaper stretched his hull to kick Jesse in the knee, but the cowboy swerved in time.

"You cheeky! I should have let they made soap from you! Ingrate!" Jesse cursed, Hanzo swore he heard the horse snorting a laugh.

As soon as the trailer was closed and Reaper was safe - but not happy - Jesse climbed back into the truck and Chief Morrison went to speak to Gabriel Reyes at the cabin window.

"You didn't come here just for the horse." he accused with a tone of anger in his voice.

"Of course not, I love to see my husband wearing a uniform and pretending to be the toughest guy in town in front of the boys." Reyes said craning his neck in the direction of the chief, Jack interrupting before he could achieve the goal.

"At home we talk." said in the darkest possible tone and returning to the police station.

Hanzo just shook his head in disbelief, it was no secret to anyone that Morrison was married and with who, but the chief always maintained a very professional attitude when he was at work and that mainly to maintain respect among subordinates, and considering where they they lived, it was better that he maintained that posture so that nobody disrespected him - no matter how much it was a little “wrong” in the Japanese's mind.

[...]

Jesse had been a cowboy for as long as he can remember.

He was born practically on top of the horses at the Reyes' ranch, yes, the same Gabriel Reyes who was now married to Chief Morrison. Before he had a wife, Miranda, the Jesse's mother, she was a descendant of Mexicans with an American name and that's what Jesse basically knows about his mother's past, she was a good-natured woman who never messed with anything dangerous - very different from the troubled son. She passed away many years ago, when Jesse was still a very irresponsible preteen and much more stubborn than he was today - although he was still a lot - he remembers his mother taking him around on a horse long before she started to walk, the time she left was difficult and he knew that he had been a pain for his father in his grief.

The thing that brought them together was Miranda and she was no longer there to calm their nerves.

But when Gabriel called him saying that he had met a man and that he wanted to start life over, Jesse was surprised. First because his father and he practically dumped things that had been buried for years on that phone call at the same time, second because he was really surprised that Gabe called him while he was in another city, a long way from Santa Fe, and third... well, third, because he was calling to tell him that he was meeting a man, of all the things he expected, that was not one of them.

"The new boy kept looking at you." said Reyes, Jesse laughed crossing his arms "Jack said he came to town because of his brother, he had an accident recently."

"I've never seen him in town before." said Jesse taking a cigarette from his pocket, Gabriel giving him a disapproving look "Don't look at me like that, I'm big enough to do this without you lecturing me." he puts the cigarette in his mouth, but Reyes slaps him on the back of the head making him spit.

"I don't care if you do that, but not in my car." said with a growl, Jesse grumbling and bending down to pick up the stick under the bench where it had fallen "And besides, afterwards Jack will think it was me and will spend half an hour scolding me about it."

"Okay!" McCree threw his hands up in surrender "I don't do it in the car anymore, but for God's sake, I'm an adult!"

"You still live under my roof." Reyes said driving with his arm out, enjoying the warm air from the outside "Returning to the point..."

"Yeah, he's interesting." Jesse said throwing his shoulders back in the car seat "But he is from the police, and you know my past as a juvenile delinquent more than anyone." replied the brunette, missing when Gabe rolled his eyes.

"I was going to say that he is from a wealthy family, or at least he was before he moved here with his sick brother, Jack told me that they threw them out of the house." the weather in the truck suddenly gets heavy "Something very serious happened and he doesn't like to talk about it, maybe you know his brother."

"I don't know, maybe if you give me names." Reyes rolls his eyes up and down, clearly wondering if he almost knew the names of both of them "Let me guess, don't you know or are you so old that you started having memory problems too?" asked Jesse mockingly, Gabriel pinching his arm in retaliation "Ouch!"

The painful sound that escaped Jesse's lips was the last thing either of them said until they arrived at the horse farm fifteen minutes later.

The Blackwatch Ranch was definitely the kind of place you'd expect to find Jesse: endless grassy areas and lots of pens and stables housing at least half a hundred horses - this in their full capacity; the first thing they saw when they entered the side road were fields on both sides of the road leading to the big white wooden house with two floors and attic where Reyes and Morrison had lived for some years, they also had a huge pavilion that served as a cafeteria for the employees just on the side a few meters from the house and a large red barn at the bottom, the stable was at the bottom of the property along with the pens and an extensive grassy area. They were all low-rise buildings and painted white with the exception of the barn and the main house, the air typical of western movies made Jesse feel even more in his natural habitat than in the city and he let himself hang by the window absorbing the heat and humidity of the summer.

"Thank God, I thought they would never come back with the damn bastard." said a short boy with tousled hair and many freckles on his face, he smiled smugly when McCree got out of the truck.

"Don't call him a bastard, you bastard!" teased the eldest, the boy approached Jesse, now the evidence of the height difference between them getting stronger "Help me to put him with the others, Grace, sooner we finish this here, sooner we will be at Orisa's!" sang excitedly the biggest, Grace soon disappeared to get Reaper's harness.

"Are you going out tonight?" Reyes asked curiously, Jesse just shrugged.

"Today is Friday, it's the boys' night, as we always do." said the youngest as if it were something common.

Actually, it happened quite often, but Grace had only recently won the legal right to drink and go to a bar and decided to start with Orisa, a kind owner who would let them stay there until closing time if they promised not to make a fuss. However, the habit had been around for a long time.

Forrest Grace and Jesse McCree had known each other for just over three years, when McCree answered the door and a short, disheveled and dirty boy was at the door asking for a job with lots of bags in his hands, the boy had recently been kicked out of the house and was looking for a place to stay in exchange for working up to your first salary and being able to rent a room in the city. One thing led to another and he ended up convincing Gabe to hire the young man to work with the horses in exchange for sleeping in the attic... this until he found out what caused Grace's expulsion from home.

It had all started out well, like any normal day you expect when working on a farm and has a heavy legwork routine like the one Grace and McCree were used to doing, the boy could be short as a beagle, but when it came to of physical strength, he managed to be even stronger than Reyes himself - and that still caused Jesse a big surprise. Despite this, the incident hadn't been at the heaviest job, in fact, it was at a more "simple" one: helping McCree with Reaper. Things were going well until Jesse tried to convince Forrest to ride Reaper once he was calm and not kicking the air and jumping as he usually was, the plan was very simple, Jesse would calm the stallion while Grace waited patiently perched on the fence and he rode when he was close enough to reach the leg.

Grace was thrown sixteen feet beyond their position and ended up with a serious concussion that left him in the hospital for days.

This was not what took Jesse, Gabe and Jack by surprise, but when Dr. Angela Ziegler appeared in the hall to give them the news that “she” would be fine. The three almost made her have a fit of laughter followed by millions of apologies from Ziegler when she realized that she had wrongly gauged her patient's gender due to his identity papers - and when she learned he was a transgender boy, all the pieces fit together for everyone. None of the three even thought about scolding Grace for "lying" to them, to McCree, the idea never even crossed his mind, it just explained some of his strangest mannerisms.

"Hey, McCree!" shouted the youngest emerging back with the harness in hand and waving them in the air "Come on! I don't want to be late for tonight!"

[...]

The rest of that day had been pretty quiet after the Reaper incident, but Grace and Jesse missed the day a lot because of the horse, so they had to run. They fed the horses and changed all the buckets and water tanks they had to change each one of them, checked the elderly, paid attention to the foals and newbies, especially the Soldier - a veteran white-haired horse that they both secretly called “Jack Two” behind Gabriel's back - it was the fun part of the job when they had to name or give temporary nicknames to each of them, even though Gabe had a pretty strict rule about not naming the horses.

"If you name it, you get attached." said the elder Reyes.

Obviously the two reckless boys ignored this rule to the letter.

"Then we have Mercy, Pharah, Soldier, Junker, Roadie, Sombra, the old Winston and Tracer." said Grace, pointing to a white mare, a brown mare with a dark mane, the white horse, a pair of light and dark beige horses that lived together, a young brown mare, an elderly black horse with white speckles and a young brown foal.

He crossed out all the names on the list on the clipboard while examining the stalls one by one.

"And don't forget Sparrow, you always forget the poor thing and he loves you!" protested McCree, the gray horse with the black mane raised it's head from where it was lying as if recognizing its name.

"Oh, it's true! I'm sorry, sir!" Grace said pretending to take a hat to the animal, who replied with a snort "If everyone is accommodated, then we can go now." found the younger of the two, Jesse waiting for him to pass through the door to close the stable.

There was only one horse left to check before they could go to the bar, the only one that didn't sleep in the stables for obvious reasons.

McCree whistled calling Reaper over to the fence and climbed over it to get taller - as if it were really necessary at his 6 feet tall - and let the black stallion approach him first, if there was something he had learned over the years who took care of Reaper was that he should always let the horse take the first step, he trotted arrogantly towards Jesse and stopped to analyze him while the man sat on the fence with his legs inside. The cowboy had an apple with which he played with his hands and gently extended it to the horse, the animal's suspicious gaze did not go unnoticed before he snapped and nibbled gently at Jesse's fingers.

"I shouldn't, but I felt sorry for you." said Jesse, the stallion snorting as if laughing at him "You are the worst horse in the world, but I love you." said rubbing his chin, Reaper neighed and pushed McCree's hand to rest his head against his chest.

"I hope he eats your hand in one of these, I would laugh like it was the moment of my life." Grace said further away from the fence, Jesse laughed low and grave.

"You only resent him because he pushed you out the closet." Jesse said scratching the horse's head, rubbing its mane.

"No, I resent him because he almost cracked my skull in two, but believe what you want." Grace replied in a joking-not-so-joking tone "I'm going to take the shower, if you don't mind, I don't want to get there smelling like an abandoned and stinky barn."

"Go ahead, just leave me some hot water, Grace." Jesse said seeing the boy go straight home, the muffled night air sticking the sweat even more on his skin from the busy day "And you, try to behave yourself."

The horse snorted in response as if it confronted everything Jesse was asking of him.

"Don't act like that, you know they'll sell you if I don't get you to behave like the others and Gabe will kill me if I don't fix you, sweetie." McCree said rubbing the horse's muzzle, feeling that he was now with all the muzzle against his chest "I know you can be nice, just need a little push."

As if to counter him, Reaper pushed his head against Jesse's chest and knocked him over the fence with his back to the ground in a dull thud that lifted a lot of dust from the soft ground where he fell. Inside the house it was possible to hear the crash.

"What was this?" Gabriel asked from his chair in the living room as Grace went up the stairs to take the bathroom before Jesse ran out of hot water, the smaller one shrugged.

"Probably just Jesse and Reaper being Jesse and Reaper." Forrest said smiling, he scratches the sweat on his neck "We are going to get ready."

"Okay, just don't cause any confusion." Gabriel asked looking out the window to find Jesse with his back to the ground looking like laughing and the horse on the other side of the fence having a party of jumping and snorting as if he was also having fun.

The man was still breathing between a laugh and another when he looked at the pen and smiled.

"You are the worst, an idiot, but I still loving you." said in an affectionate curse, Reaper snorting and stopping jumping in response while McCree got up to undust his clothes, at least the horse had the decency to throw him on soft ground.

Jesse started to walk away and took the dusty hat off his head to shake his dirt, he would have to remove the rest with a wet cloth if he wanted to use it at the bar today and something said he should use it. Maybe he ended up meeting someone interesting tonight - who knows, even the mysterious man who was working with his stepfather at the police station - but he thought it unlikely that anyone would give him any attention considering his last relationship attempt, for God's sake, this happens years ago! And Lizzie didn't leave him in peace for anything in this world. He just hoped he wouldn't find her at the bar tonight or any night.

He went up the stairs and started looking for something simple and beautiful in his closet that he could use, it was the boys' night, but it didn't mean that Jesse and Grace couldn't take the chance if someone gave them one. Jesse chose light jeans and with some worn in the back pockets, a white T-shirt and a red plaid shirt, that and his boots and hat would serve to at least not be out of place, he knew that "brother" would wear something like that. A few minutes later and Grace appeared at Jesse's door, his hair in a ponytail that looked like it was done anyhow in his thick, messy hair and a green plaid shirt with dark pants and a pair of leather boots.

"Where's the Pearl Jam convention?" McCree asked wryly, Grace showing him the middle finger.

"I came to see if it was ready, we are late." said tapping the wristwatch, Jesse suspected that that thing was too old after realizing that the protagonist of Stranger Things wore one of those.

"I'm going, just a second." said taking the cologne glass and spraying on the neck, then turning to Grace and spraying in his direction "Okay, we can go now."

"Eeew, Jesse! We can't use the same perfume! They'll think we're a couple." complained the smaller one, waving the perfume away with his shirt.

"And what's wrong with that?" laughed McCree.

"It ruins my chances, especially since I would never have anything with you." said the minor teasing him, his green eyes practically closed because they were so narrow and accusing and a pouted offense.

"A "no" would have been enough, Forrest." Jesse said taking the keys to his truck in the jar on top of the dresser.

[...]

Orisa's bar, or “Idina”, was the meeting place for many of the city's people, especially on a Friday night and this could be interpreted in two ways: as for Jesse, which was the best time of the week , where he just sat with his friends to drink a few good doses of Bourbon and Jack while telling jokes and ridiculous stories from the school days; or as for Hanzo, which was the worst time of the week, it was the rhythm of Friday's night that dictated whether the weekend would be busy or quiet depending on how many bar fights would take place that night. The Japanese was not on duty, but he was also very alert to any confusion that happened in the bar and he could intervene.

He had a rough day because of that damn horse.

It was not so long ago that he sent some messages to find out how his younger brother was doing, so he had news, Genji was very promising about getting back on his own and was already taking his first steps without the help of crutches thanks to efforts of the medical staff at the local hospital, Hanzo would send a treat later this week in thanks. He drank a glass of wine while sitting alone in the darkest corner of the bar before noticing that a couple entered and then took the vinyl seats directly in front of the door, completely opposite him and the relatively full bar, he recognized the tall boy in the cowboy hat as the one who took the horse earlier, but the smallest he didn't remember seeing before. They couldn't see Hanzo from the benches at the counter where they sat, but Hanzo could see them from the booth.

As soon as Jesse arrived at the counter, he put an elbow on it, using his cheap charm to smile at the owner, a burly black woman who served drinks right behind the counter.

"Hey, Ori!" he greeted over the loud music.

"Jesse." greeted back cleaning the glasses, she was wearing a yellow and green striped turban that night.

"We want something lighter to start today, can you get us some beers?" he asked almost singing, Hanzo took a sip of his drink while watching the man at the counter.

"I want your friend's identity, I'm not convinced yet." she said about the other boy, Hanzo raised an eyebrow hearing this, the other boy standing up and handing his wallet to Orisa to look at again "Okay, here they are, but I'm going to warn you that it is to stay out of trouble."

Jesse gave an offended snort, taking the two bottles from the counter and handing one to Grace.

"Why did everyone decide to tell me that today? When did I get anything wrong?" McCree asked in front of the counter, Orisa just crossed her thick arms over each other in front of her stout chest and raised her eyebrows in a mute question "Really?"

"McCree, I've known you since you were smaller than this counter." said the woman in a threat, Grace took a long drink from her bottle.

"Come on, cowboy, let's just drink and talk." said the smallest pulling him after seeing that Jesse would still be arguing for hours on how he was not at all trouble and just proving that he really was one.

The sound of "Bad Moon Rising" playing excitedly in the bar made Jesse stomp his feet to the beat of the song, both boys enjoying the music and occasionally risking it along with the chorus rocked the early evening. Jesse calmly drank his beer bottle while thinking about something.

"What's it?" Grace asked curiously, Jesse didn't used to be so quiet, especially at the bar.

"I don't know, it looks like someone is watching us." McCree said looking around the bar, but not finding anyone, Hanzo sighing relieved to be in the cabin and not at the tables.

"It must be just your impression, you will see that someone is just looking at us without observing." Grace said, quickly taking a menu from the stand and looking quickly over everything as if he had already decorated it.

"I'm still thinking a lot about what Gabe said." sighed the brown-eyed man leaning on the counter.

"What had happens this time?" Grace asked curiously, but without taking his eyes off the menu or the mouth off the rim of the bottle.

"He said something about a new guy, from Jack's men." he muttered thoughtfully, his eyebrows furrowing and his lips stretching in a thin line.

"What does your stepfather have to do with it?" Grace asked now, taking his eyes off the menu to face McCree properly.

"It has nothing to do with him, it has to do with a new policeman." explained more specifically "Gabe said the guy kept looking at me." said Jesse.

"Maybe he knows you from the police records." Forrest laughed, taking another sip of his beer, slowly letting the liquid running down his throat.

"No, he's one of the new ones, really new ones, I had never seen him around here." McCree said "Gabe said he recently moved with his brother."

"Then maybe he just had thought you were handsome, the poor guy needs glasses!" laughed the youngest, Jesse rolling his eyes at the comment "So, you have somewhere to start looking for him? A name?" McCree's frustrated groan reverberated over the countertop as he leaned over it.

"No." he replied.

"Wait, "no"? Don't you know his name?" Grace asked, surprised.

The second groan of frustration followed by a muffled denial was enough to make Grace understand that the older man was really stuck in a road from nowhere and with no information to take him to that cop, they still drank and enjoyed more of the music. However, a group of apparently known men entered the bar at that time and settled into the booth directly in front of the two boys' seat, from where he was standing, Hanzo could see the complete change in posture and body language of the pair. Jesse and Grace were more rigid and silent, which was totally different from the calm and relaxed posture of moments ago.

It was when Jesse thought it was a good idea to grab a new drink that Hanzo managed to see a thin, well-dressed man following him to the counter and leaning arrogantly beside the cowboy.

"Wow, Orisa, your establishment has been better frequented." said with disdain, the man wore his hair methodically combed back and were very well polished with a type of wax to keep them in place "How can you let a Chicano cowboy and a scammer bitch girl sit like that, on your counter?"

Hanzo noticed that Orisa just looked up to meet McCree's dark eyes, she lets go of the new round of beers while Grace remains quiet, Jesse seemed ready to answer when Orisa pointed at the two.

"Maximillien, why don't you take care of yourself?" she asked uncomfortably to the man in the suit "And I'll only warn you once, I think it's good for you to control yourself and not get into a fight here." she said sternly and staring at Jesse and Maximillien equally irritated "That goes for both."

Jesse let the air out in a growl from his mouth, Grace just took another sip of her drink in absolute silence when Maximillien settled down and crossed his legs over each other sitting on the vinyl bench.

"Now, Ori, I was only concerned with your image in business, it is not good that you start accepting to receive these people here, some mixed bloods, some dirty Mexicans." he looked specifically at Grace "A lying and scamming bitch girl."

"Your mother is a liar and scammer bitch girl, Maximillien!" Grace shouted, standing up abruptly, knocking over the stool.

"Boys!" called Orisa seeing that the situation was escalating too fast.

"But it's the truth! See, it looks like a zoo, now you let these mestizos sit on the counter, and for what? To throw peanuts at them and they howl at us? Like a show?" asked provocatively, he picks up a peanut and throws it in Jesse's lap "Come on, half-shit, do something."

In a tiny second, the tallest man jumped up, his dark eyes in raging fury when he grabs Maximillien by the collar of his shirt and Jesse pushes him against the counter, the man's blue eyes widen when they realize that McCree looked much smaller than he really was when he's sitting and leaning over the bench, Hanzo knew where it would end if he did not intervene, so he finished his drink and sighed tiredly.

"Repeat! Come on, repeat what you said about my brother, you son of a bitch!" shouted Jesse, shaking the blue-eyed man when he felt a hand grab his back and lift him off Maximillien.

The man was one of his security guards and punched Jesse in the nose, one that made him stagger back and gave the skinny man a chance to break free of McCree's hands, the cowboy blinked a few times before snarling and heading for the man, the two getting tangled up in punches before two more joined the fight.

And then there was a gunshot and everyone stopped, throwing themselves on the floor.

"Police! All of you are under arrest!" shouted Hanzo, gun raised and badge in hand.

Jesse was really in trouble now.


	2. Sometimes the things are unfair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!  
> I was thinking about to publish a little earlyer this time 'cause I had prepared this chapter sometime ago, but I'm translating everything of my original idiom, so I am thinking if you want to see weekly updates or something like this...  
> I need to warn you that haves some transphobia here too, because Max is really an asshole  
> This tittle is a inner reference about a thing that my father usually says to me:  
> "Some things are right, but doesn't mean they are fair"  
> So, thanks for kudos and be wellcome to leave a feedback if you are liking this!

It was around eleven when Hanzo arrived at the police station with the five men in tow in the vehicles that had answered the call, this time Fareeha and Zaryanova were the ones who drove the vehicle and - for safety - Hanzo drove his car with Jesse and Grace in the back car seat, the youngest looking the most shaken by being taken by the police while Jesse looked impassive, livid, without even a smile. The police were called by Orisa herself moments after Hanzo fired the only shot to scare the fighters and five minutes later they were all handcuffed to the wall outside the bar and having the documents collected, as only Jesse and the security guards were physically involved in the fight, only they were taken handcuffed.  


It was starting to eat away at his nerves, he saw everything, Maximillien provoked them until he didn't give them any options, but it was as the old saying went that he grudgingly learned from the police of a small country town: “Money buys everything in this life ”; as long as Maximillien had money to pay bail and lawyers to get him out of this kind of trouble, he would be under the radar.  


The night shift staff - not really many, just a few officers and a janitor - wandered quietly as the three police officers arrived with the troublemakers and the older Amari, Ana - Fareeha’s mother and head of the station while Morrison didn’t was - received them as soon as they entered the building.  


"I should be more surprised to see you here, my kid." Ana said in a plaintive voice, Jesse could only shrug with handcuffed hands "What did he do this time, dear?" asked addressing Hanzo while Fareeha and Zarya carried the men to the cells.  


"Bar fight." he said tiredly, unbuttoning his shirt plus a button and rolling up his sleeves "He was being provoked."  


"Oh, again?" groaned Ana "Tsk, tsk... Jack only arrives in the morning, so they will probably have to stay here waiting for him to arrive."  


Hanzo nodded, only then remembering something, Forrest was still at the door, afraid to enter or leave, the Japanese man was not sure which of the two options was correct to assert himself.  


"I also had to bring a witness." said leaving Ana's field of vision, hands on the waist of the black dress pants he wore.  


Ana smiled brightly before calling the boy close.  


"Hello, honey, how are you?" asked the lady looking directly at Grace, the boy gave a small wave "You look scared, dear, come on, let's put you on a warm blanket and a mug of coffee."  


"Thank you, Aunt Ana," he replied more calmly, Hanzo put a hand on his shoulder to guide him with them.  


Ana took the boys to the break room and search in the cabinets for a moment before picking up coffee and paper filters to put in the coffee maker, the youngest and smallest of the three seeming to shake even more and only then did Hanzo realize that he was crying softly.  


"Are you... alright?" the Japanese asked a little nervous, he was not given to deal with this type of situation, comforting a victim or witness was very far from his abilities.  


"Oh, he's just a little scared, aren't you, dear?" asked Ana preparing and turning on the coffee maker.  


"He said really awful things about me and Jesse, Aunt Ana." he said in a broken voice, the older one didn't know what to do now, Ana gave him a tip with her eyes and pointed a blanket with them.  


The Japanese took the fluffy brown blanket that was next to him on the sofa and gently placed it around Grace's shoulders, the youngest seeming to give in almost instantly with the comfort it provided, he looked at Hanzo for a moment before smiling.  


"Is it better now? I know it doesn't solve what he said, but..." Hanzo scratched his beard on his chin awkwardly, Grace nodded.  


"Thanks, I guess." murmured him still calming down, Ana waited for the coffee maker to fill and handed him a mug of fresh and hot coffee.  


"Do you think you can tell us anything now, or do you want to wait until you calm down?" asked Hanzo, the boy giving a negative nod "Okay, so we can wait, we still having a lot of time for that... what's your name?" he asked as gently as his voice could be.  


"Grace, Forrest Grace." he said in a small voice.  


"Shimada, Hanzo Shimada." said extending his hand, smiling a little so as not to scare him, Grace squeezed his hand, the boy took a sip of coffee and placed the mug against his cheek to comfort him a little "I'm sorry for what happened there."  


"Don't be sorry, Jesse is an idiot, but a good one." replied with a small forced smile.  


"Your older brother?" asked Hanzo, Grace nodded.  


"It's something like that." admitted the youngest, leaning his body against the back of the sofa to make himself comfy, Hanzo thought that maybe human comfort would help him.  


"He's quite protective of you, I suppose." he said, Grace nodding, Hanzo's limited ability to pull some comfortable conversation quickly running out "I also have a little brother."  


"So you understand why he defended me, don't you?" he asked in a choked voice, looking like the words were too thick and clinging to his throat.  


"Actually, yes and no, the one who bought the fights was always Genji and I was the one who had to scold him for that." laughed Hanzo, Forrest following the laugh.  


"Looks a lot like Jesse." Grace's expression was still fallen, a tremor in his shoulders hinted that he wouldn't stop crying anytime soon "It's just that they are always threatening, cursing, it's not the first or the last time they say things like that."  


Now Hanzo was confused, he tried to go over the whole fight in his head and he knew there was something in the words that Maximillien used to talk to Grace... he was treating him by female pronouns.  


"What kind of things? If you want to tell me." asked genuinely curious and concerned, Grace took another sip of coffee and propped the cup against his head, sobbing.  


"They... they call me slut, bitch girl, liar, scammer, so many "she"s and "her"s that I lost the count, Jesse already..." another sob "Jesse is already tired of repeating that if someone else talks to me like that, he will punch them, but they never stop."  


Hanzo's confusion quickly turns to guilt, he understood what the boy meant. As if it were something natural for him, the Shimada took one arm over Grace's shoulders and pulled him gently into a hug over the blanket while letting the younger boy's anguish come out in the form of crying, maybe that would help calm him down before him could testify.  


"I promise I will help you and your brother with what I can, I saw that Maximillien who started the fight, I may as well say that in the records." promised Hanzo, the boy seeming to soften a little under the embrace.  


"Thank you... Hanzo." said hiding his head in the chest of the tallest, finally relaxing.  


"You're welcome... Forrest." the smaller one sobbed again, Hanzo stiffening because he thought he had gone too far or said something wrong, but then feeling the small callused hands leave the blanket and hug him back.  


That was enough hint that he needs to know it was everything okay now, that Grace would be fine and that the only thing left was to talk to Jesse McCree.

[...]  


Jesse already knew that, it was nothing new for him, but at least Ana had the decency to leave him with some entertainment. The tennis ball beat rhythmically against the concrete wall of the cell he was in, he could hear Maximillien's men laughing and talking on the wall on the side where he was sitting on the bed, but that no longer disturbed him.  


Gabe would want to rip his throat out.  


The more he thought about it, the more he was sure that his father would break him into pieces when he knew, he didn't even have a chance to call to explain himself before Zarya took his belongings and put them in a file box. He heard footsteps in the hall and immediately stopped with the ball.  


"Fareeha, if you came here to make funny at me, remember who changed your diapers when your mother was on duty or I will spread your baby pictures throughout the police station." he threatened without looking away from the gray wall.  


The clearing throat noise that followed was not hers and Jesse realized too late, startling himself.  


"Well, I think Officer Amari had other plans." said Hanzo standing in front of the metal bars, Jesse swallowing hard now "Take it easy, cowboy, you will only stay here until Morrison arrives, this will not be on your record."  


"Yeah, that wouldn't make much difference, darlin'." said Jesse now facing Hanzo's face, recognition taking him by surprise for two reasons "Shit, did you say that I will have to stay here until he arrives?"  


"I suppose I did." admitted Hanzo amused, Jesse groaned in misery.  


"My father will kill me." he said rubbing his face "And Jack will kill me too."  


"Excuse me?" Hanzo asked, propping himself up on the metal bars, Jesse taking a hand from his face before answering.  


"Jack Morrison, he's my stepfather, he's married to my father... Gabriel Reyes." he said with an embarrassed smile, Hanzo's eyes widened in clear surprise.

"I was really surprised here, Morrison commented that they had children, but I thought they were just little kids." said the Japanese, Jesse laughing at his confusion.  


"Yeah, and I took my mother's side more... and Forrest, it's a long story, he's not really a blood brother and he couldn't even be adopted, he's a friend who is practically from the family, but I prefer to call my heart brother." laughed the cowboy "You are familiar to me, I think I saw you yesterday earlier." said scratching his beard while watching Hanzo "You are the newbie, aren't you? What move a few months ago."  


"I suppose I am." replied extending his hand through the bars "Hanzo Shimada, but you can call me Hanzo."  


"It is good finally put a name in a face." McCree said "McCree, Jesse McCree, you can call me anything you want, darlin'." replied shaking hands "But I think you already knew that, right?"  


Hanzo's face took on a slight shade of pink with the statement, he thought he was being discreet as he stared at the man, until he realized he was too quiet when Jesse answered the implied question.  


"Earlier, when I came to get Reaper, my father shouted my name." Hanzo was now completely red.  


"Sure, that." he said only then realizing that both had their hands still clinging to each other, loosening their grip before the situation became even more embarrassing.  


The two were in contemplative silence for a few minutes, Hanzo looked at the clock on the wall, it was almost four in the morning and it would still be a few hours before Jack arrived to attend to all the bureaucracy of liberating the men, the Japanese man sits on the floor, close the cell bars and McCree imitates him.  


"Your brother is worried about you, I had to comfort him and promise to save your skin." said categorically, Jesse was visibly concerned.  


"Is he okay? I didn't hear him in any of the cells." asked worried, Hanzo just gave him a nod before continuing to explain.  


"Yes, he's fine, he's not in a cell, in fact it won't even be on his file." said Hanzo, Jesse sighed with relief "He was not directly involved in the fight, so Ana and I were trying to calm him down before he testified, he was crying a lot." the Japanese man looked at the other man's relieved face.  


"That's nice." McCree replied "Not about the crying, he was crying, did you say?" Hanzo nodded in agreement "He must have trusted you a lot for this, Forrest is not to cry about anything."  


Hanzo smiled at that, feeling grateful that the youngest had trusted him so much right away. He and Jesse talked for a few more hours until about six in the morning before they heard the door leading to the cells open and a figure looking angry and somber stopping in front of the opening, Gabriel had his eyes narrowed on Jesse and Morrison appeared soon ago, accompanied by Grace, who just molded the words "I'm sorry" with his mouth.  


"You're in a lot of trouble, young man." Jack said, Jesse bit his lip and exhaled through his nose "Do you know how worried we were about you? We were only able to talk to Forrest now and we found out he was here."  


"I warned you a million times, Jesse, "without getting in trouble"!" Gabriel shouted, Hanzo just walked away and unlocked the railing "I hope it served as a lesson for you."  


The cowboy sighed heavily.  


"Yes, Dad." he said with his head down, Hanzo opened the cell door and let Jesse leave towards the Chief, he took off his hat and to Hanzo before going "I'll see you around."  


The Japanese man laughed.  


"I don't know if I should say the same." he said in an amused tone.  


"Wow, he know how to joke." Jesse laughed walking away, Grace also waved before walking away.  


The older one stayed behind when they entered Jack's office, none of them looking very happy about it before they closed the door and Hanzo didn't see anything anymore, Ana calmly collected things while her daughter was at the computer solving Maximillien's pending issues to release your bodyguards too. The Japanese locked his jaw and clenched his teeth against each other, feeling the anger starting to flow in his system before he felt a slightly heavier hand on his shoulder.  


"Honey, I understand how you feel." said the older Amari firmly "But the world is not always fair, sometimes we are also quite powerless to protect the weakest."  


Hanzo felt the weight of the old woman's words, looking away at his own feet and crossing his arms over his chest.  


"It's unfair that he doesn't pay for the things he said to Grace." he said in a whisper.  


"As I said: "things are not always fair", my dear, he is doing something legal on bail, even if it is not fair." she repeated patiently, patting Hanzo's shoulder as she said.  


The Japanese man's eyes fixed on the slender man withdrawing a rather generous amount of money from the purse until it was in Fareeha's hands, he would ask her about Jesse another time, as they seemed to really know each other for what he had said. Something in Hanzo's mind made him want to know more about McCree.  


However, he also needed to go home, even if he had to ask for the morning off to at least recover from last night's extra shift.  


[...]  


Hanzo came home in the morning only to realize that what he feared most had happened - and it was not a tragedy, but a kind of personal affront - Genji was spread like a lazy fat cat on the living room sofa, his feet dressed only in sushi socks, were seated on either side of the coffee table, legs spread and heads thrown back with his mouth open and a Nintendo Switch controller in his hands smeared with orange powdered snacks - drooling and snoring on the back from the couch. The older one rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, pondering whether he was strangling his brother now or waiting for him to wake up to perform the task, finding many packages of several different snacks spread across the floor and at least half a dozen cans of energy drinks.  


"Genji Shimada!" shouted Hanzo, the snoring was quickly cut and the sound that came out of Genji's mouth was almost a squeak.  


"Ah!" he grabs the sweatshirt to his chest, wide eyes and green hair covering most of them "Fuck, Hanzo, you didn't have to scare me like that... were you late?" he asked on a sigh, relieved that he was just the older brother.  


"It's morning, Genji, and what are you doing in the living room at such an hour?!" he shouted, Genji ignoring him as he curled up on the couch again.  


"You can't talk to me like that, I'm recovering from a serious accident, you know? I can't stress." said shrugging, Hanzo almost gave in to the urge to tighten his hands around his neck now.  


"A little contradictory coming from someone who was thrown on my hard sofa, all twisted like a pretzel." snarled Hanzo, crossing his arms over his chest, resisting the urge to hit his brother "Did you stay all night on that couch? You have a bed, a comfortable and soft one! How is your excuse that you had a serious accident?" demanded the older one, the green-haired one rolled his eyes.  


"I wanted to play on television, the screen is too small." he said in a snort, showing the controls in his hands to Hanzo, who rubbed his face with his hands in a snarl.  


"And all these packages of snacks?" asked kicking the packages to emphasize "I left all your food ready and labeled with post-its everywhere so you don't get clogged with junk." said even more angry.  


"I wasn't hungry, and that food is horrible and as tasteless as the hospital's... or the father's." said Genji with crossed arms and throwing a tantrum, Hanzo felt a vein jumping on his forehead with such an insult.  


"Then why the hell did you get all these snacks?" he asked again, all his willpower was now destined to not to kill his brother and finish the job that the accident almost caused.  


"I said I wasn't hungry, not that I didn't want to eat." said the youngest with a provocative smile, Hanzo locked his jaw in anger.  


He holds up a finger in front of Genji's eyes.  


"I'll call Zenyatta." he threatens.  


"Hanzo, no!" begs the youngest in exasperation, anything was less humiliating than calling his doctor anytime soon.  


Hanzo's bargaining smile came just a few thousandths later.  


"Now we're getting somewhere." said victorious, Genji throwing his head back and growling deep in his throat in irritation.  


It was not uncommon for the two of them to pin themselves - much less so early - or for Hanzo to have to blackmail or bargain with his beloved younger brother in order for him to cooperate and comply with the recommendations of the doctor who was responsible for his case, usually threatening to call Zenyatta on in the early hours of the morning or in the middle of the night it worked like a holy medicine, since Genji preferred a thousand times to deal with the passive-aggressive aggressions and the sullen mood of his older brother than with the endless sermon of his physiotherapist - and psychologist in the spare time.  


Hanzo took a small pot with the green label attached to it written "breakfast" and opened the lid before putting it in the microwave, he would not waste that amount of food if his brother refused to eat.  


"Why did you arrive in the morning? I thought you were going to come home straight." asked Genji, now more curious than angry, "he was on crutches and not crawling around the house at least," thought Hanzo.  


"Bar fight, I was there when it happened, so I had to take the tough guys to the police station and wait for Chief Morrison." said calmly while frying a few eggs.  


"Someone I know?" he asked, approaching his brother.  


"No, I don't know..." thought Hanzo, the device beeping and he taking the pot of heated rice out of the microwave "The Chief's adopted son and some security guards from a rich asshole."  


"Uh, what did he do?" he asked genuinely interested, sitting on the island in the small kitchen.  


"He was defending a friend, Maximillien was provoking him and then Jesse tried to fight back, but the security guards stopped him." the expression of the two brothers soured at the same time, Genji looked with disdain at the pot that Hanzo placed in front of him with the ceramic bowl.  


"I never liked this guy, thinking he was the owner of the city." muttered Genji taking a handful of rice in his hand before throwing it in his mouth.  


"He who deserved to have spent the night in the cell." Hanzo said irritably, turning the egg over before serving him and his brother with the meal.  


Genji took a deep breath, absorbing the smell of the freshly made food and letting out a satisfied sigh from it, he looked tired and Hanzo wondered why, maybe he shouldn't have been so hard on Genji and he was just anxious that his brother was gone so long. The green-haired one let out a small laugh before picking up the chopsticks and pinching the eggs to cut a piece.  


"Did he at least take a punch? Tell me that this Jesse at least punched him..." he begged, Hanzo laughed.  


"No, unfortunately, but he gave him a good shake." he replied more lightly "And you? Did you have fun at least?" Genji's excited expression fell a little, but nothing too severe that worried Hanzo.  


"Seahorseman said he wasn't going to be able to play with me tonight, something about the boys' night with his brother, he said they were going out." he said looking a little sad "So I played Breath of the Wild instead of the usual today, I ended up falling asleep halfway."  


""Seahorseman"?" Hanzo asked confused, Genji laughed.  


"It's his name in the game, he doesn't really call himself that." he said amused by his brother's confusion.  


For Genji, Seahorseman was a good friend who coincidentally also lived nearby, but who had never had the opportunity to meet in person for obvious reasons, they had met a few months ago and soon exchanged messages for the game itself on the XBox, this before them evolve to their profiles on the network and then to mobile messages. Sometimes they communicated by audio, but it was more rare, Seahorseman always said that it was difficult to be alone enough for some privacy living with so many people and Genji just had his nights off with all his rehab routine.  


In the end, their friendship worked in their strange way.  


The ping of Genji's cell phone announced that he was receiving a message at that time.  


"Oh, by the way." said Genji excitedly "It's him!"

[7:27 am | Seahorseman]: Hi, I hope I didn't wake you up  
[7:28 am | Seahorseman]: My idiot brother and I just got home  
[7:28 am | Sparrowkiller]: It was a good night, apparently  
[7:29 am | Seahorseman]: LOL, no, we ended up at the police station, my brother punched a guy, our parents are furious  
[7:30 am | Seahorseman]: I feel so drained that I think I'm going to sleep all day  
[7:31 am | Sparrowkiller]: So sleep tight, baby, it's Saturday  
[7:31 am | Sparrowkiller]: Clearly you need to

Genji was smiling at the messages while Hanzo watched his almost radiant expression with a smug smile on his face, when he noticed that he was looking at his cell phone too long, the green-haired one cleared his throat.  


"What? I was just answering!" defended himself.  


"Of course you were." said Hanzo amused.  


[...]  


"I had been very clear about fights, Jesse, I told you so many times that you are not a kid anymore and you need to keep your temper under control!" shouted Gabriel as soon as he and the two boys were home, Grace shifting the weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably.  


"I was defending him, Dad! Maximillien told..." Gabriel interrupts Jesse's speech before he finishes, his finger pointed at Forrest.  


"I don't really care about what Maximillien did this time, you shouldn't fight back his provocations." snarled Reyes "Next time let the police deal with him!"  


"Oh sure, the police, as they did when Ashe's men gave Grace a scare and took him for a “walk” with them, or when someone cracked your car with racist phrases, and don't tell me it wasn't him, because I know it was!" Jesse said disgusted, Grace opened his mouth to answer, but Gabe raised his hand to silence him.  


"You know it's not that simple, Jesse, Jack has his hands tied here, they have money, they have good lawyers and they can pay a fucking bail... and what do you have, hijo?" asked Gabriel, Jesse took off his hat and tossed it away.  


"Mierda!" McCree howled "Mierda!!!" he repeated louder this time, his voice sounding like something between a roar and a growl. "They take what they want, do what they want and I have to keep quiet? Is that what you're telling me to do, Gabriel?"  


"Yes, hijo, that's exactly what I'm telling you to do." Reyes said sternly, arms crossed and sitting on the arm of the sofa "I know you wanted to put him behind bars..."  


"Or in a grave." muttered Jesse.  


"But the world doesn't work like that, Jesse." said even more seriously "The world is not fair, especially for people like us, and you are no longer a child who does not understand this." Gabriel sighed tiredly "And if you really want to help people so much, you should have joined the police."  


Jesse gave a bitter laugh, as if something tasted bad in his mouth.  


"You know I can't, my record is dirtier than a whole landfill since I was thirteen, Dad." he said, throwing himself on the sofa, shoulders slumped in defeat.  


Grace just turned to the stairs and started up.  


"If you need me, I'll go to my room, I feel exhausted." said the youngest, Gabe gave him a sad smile in response.  


"Okay, kid, if you need anything, call us... we still have a lot to talk about." Reyes said looking at McCree, when he heard the steps disappear in the hall, Gabriel rubbed his goatee thoughtfully "Jess, I know you resent this."  


"It's kind of obvious." he replied angrily.  


"Pendejo." Gabriel warned "I'm trying to have a man-to-man conversation here, and you continue to act like the rude boy you were as a teenager, all this pent-up anger never got you anywhere, Jesse." he said, Jesse shifted uncomfortably on the couch.  


"I don't know..." he murmured "I... sometimes I look back and regret having been a “pendejo”, as you say." he said making quotes in the air to punctuate the word "I think I'm trying to make up for the idiot I was."  


Gabe laughed, this time amused and not sarcastic.  


"And you think that by defending Grace and Orisa you are redeeming yourself?" he asked in an ironic way, more rhetorical than actually asking "Mi hijo, you are really very stubborn or very stupid... maybe both, I don't know what side of family this came for, maybe none."  


"Hey!" McCree exclaimed, offended.  


"But it is not getting into more fights that you will get rid of old fights, boy." Reyes said leaning forward "You are an adult now, so act accordingly."  


Jesse wanted to answer something ironic, but Gabe was right, he was acting like an angry little boy at the bar and that's why they ended up at the police station in the first place too. At least he had a chance to exchange a word or two with Hanzo and now he had a name for a face - a very attractive face, by the way.  


"Yeah, whatever... I'll try more next time, old man." said crossing his arms, Gabe knew this was the most he would get out of Jesse for now.  


"You are excused from work for today, but you will have to compensate on Sunday." Reyes said, McCree's defeated expression almost made him laugh again.  


"Great, I think I deserve it." said getting up and picking up the hat from the floor "I'll see how he is." Gabe just muttered agreeding and nod before Jesse left the room.  


As soon as Jesse was free of all sermons, he went upstairs to check on the youngest... only to find Grace sleeping face down on the bed still fully dressed up to his shoes. Jesse didn't treat Grace any differently than any other man they lived with, but they had a very strict restriction on touching each other's bodies in vulnerable moments, it seemed like a silly rule at first, but to McCree it made a lot of sense, just like the rule of always knocking before entering each other's rooms to avoid embarrassment. Jesse saw that the cell phone was on the nightstand and connected to the charger, probably the last thing he did before going to bed and took off Grace's shoes carefully, untying and tugging very gently so as not to wake him or hurt his ankles.  


He threw a blanket over the boy, since undressing him was out of the question.  


"Sleep tight, darlin'." Jesse said, messing up his brother's thick brown hair, getting up and going to close the door.  


Jesse went down the “attic” stairs and went through the bathroom, he meditated for a few minutes if he needed a shower before deciding what to do next, sleeping was a good idea, but either way he was smelling of beer and old smoke of cigarettes. The man opened the door and entered the cramped space, taking off his shirt and throwing it in the laundry basket, McCree looked in the mirror and noticed that there was a very big purple on the side of his face, partially covered by the beard of the jaw, as well as blood dry in his beard because of the punch to the nose.  


He grunted as he finished undressing and got into the shower, the hot water hitting his back first before throwing his head back, he hadn't drunk enough for a hangover, but his whole body ached from the fight and the night in the cell, Gabriel was right, he was getting too old for games like that. He slid his back across the cold tile and sat on the floor of the stall, reflecting as the water soaked his brown hair.  


If Hanzo hadn't interceded for him, he would be screwed now.


	3. Messages and Sickness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!  
> I'm really sorry about the non-weekly update but it's here now.  
> This took a little much time than I was thinking it was because I needed to write, translate and rewrite without the translations incoerences and mistakes to don't have anything lost in translation... Well, now it's fine!  
> No warnings today, just a little bit of blood in the end, but is basically our boys beeing dumbs and socially stranges with each other.  
> Enjoy!

Jesse knew he wouldn't be able to sleep even if every cell in his body was tired, so he decided he would at least take a look at his precious horses. He went downstairs and grabbed some cookies from the jar before heading out to the still-busy stables, the only one present being the farm veterinarian, Baptiste, the cowboy greeted him by taking off his hat before taking a look at the stalls and seeing that they were all well.  
"You look like shit, McCree." said the young man, he was tall and very strong, with tall, thick curls on top of his head, his skin was dark and he looked smooth and well cared for even working on a farm.  
"Say something I don't know, Jean..." mumbled McCree, the tallest peeking out of Sparrow's stall before the horse got up and rubbed his head on Jesse's fingers "Sorry, boy, he didn't come with me today."  
Baptiste laughed at how the other talked to the animal before starting to examine the old Soldier, the young Haitian had been hired not long ago to help with the horses when they realized there were too many animals and too few specialists, he was a friendly and very helpful young man who was always willing to do much more than his primary service. In fact, everyone there did much more than their primary service.  
"Has Papa been here yet?" asked Jesse, doing a quick scan around, Jean frowned.  
"No, Mr. Reyes hasn't come around yet, the last time I saw him was last night while he was finishing counting the chickens." replied the youngest, both exchanged a suspicious look with each other.  
Gabriel was always the first to get up and the last to lie down and the chickens were in the hen house long before he and Forrest closed the horses in their stalls.  
"This is definitely unusual." said Jesse scratching his beard, kicking some loose pebbles as he walked around the stable, "I was going to take the day off today, but I think I'll end up helping you, do you need anything?" he asked, rubbing his hands.  
"You should have been sleeping, pendejo." the voice behind his back said making him almost jump out of his pants, Gabriel was standing at the door on the opposite side, without his cap and with messy gray curls, Jesse didn't want to say anything, but he looked terrible, “Save your strength for tomorrow, I'm still going to rip off your skin. ”  
"Nah, you can still get a lot out of my skin even if I help Baptiste today, dad." said McCree, turning on his side to face the older man, Gabriel seemed to drag himself heavily to where they were.  
"So do what you want, but know that your neck is already at risk here." he coughs a few times as soon as he sits on a bale of hay, Jesse had noticed that he had been acting weird for some time, but he didn't know exactly what was wrong with his old father.  
"Did you catch a cold, old man?" he asked with a sarcastic smile, Gabriel's dark eyes piercing him like bullets.  
"Call me old man again and I will revoke your time off, pendejo." said in a hoarse voice, he clears his throat before continuing, "It's just a sore throat, nothing to worry about."  
"I didn't say I was worried..." said Jesse with a shrug.  
"If you don't mind, McCree, I would like your help with getting the horses out and bathing them, we have a lot of work to do." scolded Jean with folded arms, Jesse's shoulders falling in regret.  
"I'll never volunteer for anything again after this." the cowboy jokes, Gabe laughed against the wooden wall before sighing.  
"Be careful to not have too much fun, kids." said the eldest, who still sat for a while before getting up and leaving.  
Jesse had been paying attention to that too, he couldn't be crazy, he knew his father was not well at the moment when Reyes didn't come yelling at him in the stable and sending him away so he wouldn't intrude on his work, and that cough? God, not even their old dog coughed like that. Something was very wrong and Jesse knew that more than anyone else on that whole farm, but he had no way of talking to Jack now to know what his father was hiding from him.  
Yesterday he didn't look so bad, but today he had dark circles under his eyes, Jesse thought that it might be the fault of the sleepless night waiting for him and Grace to return from Idina, but he doubted it.  
Jean started taking the horses out one by one and, while he bathed the horses, Jesse cleaned the stall and changed their entire bed - a dirty and smelly job, but someone had to do it anyway - he turned the straw around and took it out all the dirt to put in the cart for another one of the boys to take, it was usually Grace's job, but today it was just one of the boys who stayed for the season. So it went on all morning: taking the horse out of its stall, cleaning the stall, bathing the horse and returning it to the stall; one by one the horses were all treated and fed before McCree could leave.  
A few hours before noon he was already exhausted and had not seen the slightest sign of Gabriel or his little brother, Jesse went to check on Reaper taking advantage of the time he would have some free time with the horse.  
“Guess who is the most terrible and miserable little thing in the world, but that I love unconditionally? Is that you!" he said opening his arms as soon as he climbed over the fence and the black stallion trotted happily to receive him, "I know you missed me, you filthy demon." said McCree hugging the horse's muzzle.  
"I definitely don't understand how this bastard loves you so much." said Olivia.  
Olivia Colomar, or - as Jesse liked to refer to her - the original Sombra.  
She was Jesse's best friend and practically his sister - Jesse had a lot of adoptive “sibilings” - they grew up together and now she was a Computer Science student at the local university, the name Sombra was her hacker nickname and she had stayed equally disgusted and flattered to have a horse named after her from McCree.  
"Maybe it's my irresistible magnetism." Jesse said amused.  
"Good thing it only works with horses." mocked Sombra, Jesse rolled his eyes, "How's the progress with the diablo?" she asked.  
Jesse jumped into the pen and Reaper moved away from him.  
"See for yourself." he said before exchanging a few words in Spanish with the animal to calm him down and then climb onto his bare back and stroke his neck, “See? It's not that bad... we just can't put a saddle in it or he will be angry.” he replied riding the horse as if it were nothing.  
"If I remember what they told me, that's how he knocked you out yesterday." replied, leaning against a nearby pole, Jesse closed his expression.  
"Who told you?" he asked angrily, trying not to be surprised by a header again.  
"Well, I have my contacts..." she said, wiping her long, purple-painted nails, "Is Papi at home?" she asked.  
"He is, but he is strange." said McCree getting down from his horse, stroking his neck and pampering him with one of his cookies, Reaper gently nibbled on Jesse's fingers without hurting him this time.  
"How strange?" asked the girl, approaching a safe distance from where the horse and McCree were.  
"Strange like if he was looking sick..." said McCree nervously as the girl and he shared a heavy look.  
"I'm going to try to get something out of him, I warn you." said Sombra going towards the house "It was good to see you, hermanito."  
"It was also nice to see you too, hermanita." says McCree.  
He still wondered how weird Gabriel was acting.  
[...]  
As soon as he entered the kitchen in the early afternoon, he came face to face with his little brother still waking up while propping himself up with his elbows on the sink counter, his red flannel shirt with the tips out of his pants and his hair was still messy and loose on his shoulders, but already wearing dark boots and jeans. He passes by his brother, puts a hand over his head, stroking his unruly curls while the younger one doesn't even bother to take his eyes off the coffee maker and slowly drips the contents into his jar.  
"Hey, buddy." greeted Jesse as he took a packet of cookies from the cupboard and left them beside the sink.  
"Hey." was all he got in response while the youngest patiently waited for the coffeemaker's whistle to announce that it had already done its job.  
Jesse laughed at Grace's sleepy expression, the dark circles around his eyes denouncing that he had slept less than he really needed after yesterday. “Do you want to take a walk with me? I think Mercy and Sparrow need exercise.” McCree asked, Grace yawned as he poured a bottle of coffee.  
"It would be nice, but aren't you hungover for that?" said the smallest, propping himself up on the kitchen counter, Jesse shook his head.  
"I didn't drink enough for a hangover, it takes a lot more than two bottles of beer to put this machine here to sleep." he said, pointing at himself with two thumbs and a smug smile, Grace rolled his eyes.  
"You have a Ferrari's self-esteem in the chassis of a minivan, you know?" asked Grace sarcastically, McCree dropped his jaw as he glared at Forrest.  
"Okay, smart guy, I'm going to prepare the horses, but if you keep disrespecting me like that, I'll hide your video game controls for a week." the two laughed without the real bite of a threat, Forrest just answered a muffled "okay" before Jesse left the kitchen back at the stable.  
Jesse quickly put the saddle in Mercy, the mare was one of the most tranquil of all the horses they owned and was usually the first choice of newcomers to the ranch because it was the most tame and obedient among them, Jesse stroked her white and pink snout while did a quick check to make sure she was ready to go. It was not much different with his partner, but Sparrow, the gray horse who practically adopted Grace as his official caregiver, was much more energetic than his partner, he had arrived at the ranch shortly after Mercy and has not left her side since. Not even for a second. If McCree took the horse alone for any activity in the field, he would certainly be stubborn until he saw the mare nearby.  
Grace appeared a few moments later with a small backpack on his back and one for McCree.  
"Take it, I brought some things for us to have a picnic near the lake." said the little boy, throwing the backpack at Jesse.  
"Great, we can have some fun there." replied the biggest.  
The two left soon after, Jesse on the mare and Grace on the horse.  
The elder was nervous about the night before, he had finally found Hanzo, but it was not in the most ideal circumstances possible. The cowboy scratched his beard for a moment before starting to speak when they were far enough away from the property. "So... Do you remember the cop that I said who didn't stop staring at me when Reaper ran away?" he asked vaguely, Grace frowned as he followed Jesse.  
"Yes, I remember you saying something like that when we were at the bar, why?" he asked, Jesse sighed loudly.  
"I found out his name, it was Hanzo." said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, Grace looked surprised.  
"Are you kidding me? Was it really him? He was at the bar that whole time maybe listening to you talk about how you wanted to meet him? ” asked amused, Jesse laughed dryly.  
"Yeah, exactly, on the one hand it was nice to finally put a name on a face, but I don't know... after what happened yesterday, I very much doubt that he has any real interest in me." McCree replied, his brother rolling his eyes.  
"Oh yes, of course, he wasn't even blatantly flirting with you and you with him." said the minor, "Get real, McCree, the gay energy between you was on a par with our parents." completed Grace, Jesse stopped the mare.  
"So if you think I have that many chances, what am I supposed to do, cupid?" he asked teasingly, Jesse didn't expect Grace to take him seriously until his brother was silent while he thought.  
They spotted the lake as soon as Jesse stopped talking and followed him in silence, Jesse could hear Grace's thoughts so loud that he already knew exactly what he was going to suggest before he even made it, much louder than the trotting of the horses, but he did not stop the cold sweat he feels while his brother stood with one hand on his chin in thought, the other hand firmly holding the reins of the gray horse as McCree guided the mare beside him.  
"I think you should ask him out." said Grace, stopping his horse as soon as they reached the lake, Jesse did not respond immediately, "I know it's been a long time since you went out with someone like this, Jess, but you need to get your bisexual ass to work or you're going to die single!"  
"Grace, you know that I already accepted my destiny as the unmarried uncle of our family." laughed McCree stopping beside his brother so that his mount could drink some water, the two dismounted and started to place the towel on the floor as well as two small aluminum mugs.  
“You think you fool me too easily, don't you? You really think I didn't see how you were just smiles to Hanzo when we left the police station.” said the smaller one, placing the coffee bottle and the packet of cookies in a corner of the towel before sitting down with Jesse, the boy's red and black flannel looked too big on him.  
"If only I had taken his phone..." mumbled McCree, taking off his hat and throwing beside his brother, Forrest snorted loudly and facepalm.  
"You're an idiot! That's the first thing we do when we're interested in someone, Jess!” cried Grace, punching his arm hard, "You get stupider than you already are when you fall in love." snarled the smaller one, Jesse gasped in outrage.  
"Sorry, Sir "I don't fall in love", but you know very well why I didn't get his number!" shouted McCree, pushing him back hard, Forrest laughed taking the coffee bottle and pouring himself some.  
"Okay, you're forgiven... for now." he said, taking a sip from the aluminum mug.  
"Speaking of which, did you tell your boyfriend that you named your favorite horse after him?" McCree asked, Grace choked on his coffee.  
"Jesse!" scolded completely flushed, the older had to restrain himself from laughing out loud at his brother's bewildered expression, "We are not boyfriends."  
"He calls you pet names like "baby", this is what boyfriends do." he laughed watching the pair of horses drinking water and rubbing their snouts together, "He is kind to you and everything."  
"We don't even know each other, I'm sure he's like that with everyone." said the smaller one, shrugging against his ears, Jesse didn't lose as the boy was practically bursting with shame.  
"You have a crush on him, admit it." teased Jesse, Forrest turned angrily on McCree as he drank the rest of his cup. He plunged it into the water and threw the contents at Jesse, “Hey! I was kidding!"  
"It is not funny." he countered, Jesse then smiled with bared teeth in a cruel idea, "No, McCree!"  
"Do you know what else wouldn't be funny?"  
"McCree, no!"  
"McCree, yes!"  
Jesse rose to his full height and Forrest crawled backwards until he was standing and leaning against the tree where the horses were tied, but it was useless when Jesse came forward to chase him and grabbed him from the waist. As much as Grace was still relatively strong enough to break free of Jesse's arms around his waist, he was still too short to reach his feet on the ground while Jesse darted into the lake with his brother screaming.  
"Son of a bitch!" shouted Grace before sinking his head into the water.  
Jesse emerged a second later, already much further than Grace would reach him with a short arm. "Did you insult my beloved Mama?" he asked in mock offense, Grace emerged shortly after coughing.  
"You can only be adopted, you shit..." he snarled, brushing his hair from his face, "You could at least have expected me to take my boots off, you bastard."  
"It wouldn't be fun if I had warned you." McCree said with a shrug.  
They had to wait for the clothes to dry before returning home almost in the evening.  
[...]  
All Grace could do was grunt in frustration at every wrong move he made in that match, and it was becoming quite frequent as they went on trying to accomplish the goal, he groaned again when the Sparrowkiller’s chat icon turned green and blinked with his unintelligible curses.  
"I need healing!" shouted Sparrow's voice over the phone, Grace just shook his head in irritation.  
“Man, Seahorseman and I have no way of healing you all the time! Stop throwing yourself in the middle of the crossfire!” shouted another voice back, Lúcio, a Grace’s friend who played practically all games with the brunette.  
Grace muttered in agreement, "Lúcio is right, I can't handle everything if you keep jumping against the enemy team." he said, followed by another uncomfortable groan.  
“People, focus, for God's sake!” replied Dva to both, or rather, Hana Song: professional gamer, streamer and Lúcio's girlfriend - in his spare time; Grace frowned even more.  
They had been playing for about two hours and he felt the twinge of pain in his belly since the beginning of the night, it was already the third game and they had lost the previous two, the boy was wearing his glasses and headphones, a gray T-shirt one number larger than his body and black basketball shorts as he sat in front of the console, feet crossed and practically curled up on the bed.  
The cramps were really strong this time and he could feel it would happen at any moment.  
"You guys are embarrassing me to my Twitch followers." muttered Song, a female voice complained offended.  
"Don’t be so mean with us, love, this team is really hard!" replied Lena - Tracer - Forrest knew her personally too, she and her girlfriend, Emily, were a lovely couple and he felt welcomed with both.  
"I need healing!" shouted Sparrow again, Grace felt it was the last straw, he left the game before he could even hear the indignant response from any of his friends about the boy's insistence on demanding support for the thousandth time.  
Grace moaned in pain from both cramps and headaches and throwing himself aside and curling up in a ball of agony on her mattress and blankets, Jesse used to say it looked like a small comfortable nest with so many blankets and pillows, he mumbled a lot of curses of pain while cringing and shivering. He considered calling McCree just this once.  
Meanwhile, the game was still chaotic.  
"Shit, where's Seahorse?" asked Genji worriedly, he was sitting on a beanbag chair in his room this time and in black sweatpants and orange T-shirt, his neon green hair was messy and a huge jar of ice cream was propped up between his thighs.  
"You must have amazed him after so much asking for a cure, carrot." accused Hana, the defeat screen falling to all the rest immediately afterwards "Fuck, Sparrow!" she yelled and she could hear the sound of something falling or being thrown to the floor with force.  
"Love, take it easy, you don't have to break control because of him." replied Lúcio a little more patiently, Genji rolled his eyes, "But you are right, he doesn't go out like that for no good reason, this is strange coming from him."  
"I also found it very strange, I texted earlier and he said he was feeling a little bit sick." said the girl, Lena murmured a question and they continued talking.  
They left the game, went back to the menu and decided to end the game night there for now, but continued on their voice chat when they realized that Grace had hung up.  
"Now that you said it, I realized he was mumbling and moaning in the middle of the game, do you think he's okay?" asked Genji, wrapping the headset cord between his fingers, Hana made a long, thoughtful sound.  
"I really don't know, Gen, he's not much for saying anything personal to us." said the Asian girl, Lúcio agreed with her "Besides, I think you should talk to him, if you are so worried it is better to know than to be theorizing."  
She was right about it, it was better to go directly to the source than to wonder what Seahorseman had or if he was okay. Genji took the phone from the bed and typed a message.  
[Sparrowkiller | 9: 30pm]: Hey, are you okay?  
He mentally cursed himself for sounding so stupid and dropped his phone on the bed, the ping typical of when the other boy's messages sounded like a sweet symphony in Genji's ears and he jumped up to open the notification.  
[Seahorseman | 9: 32pm]: No 🙁  
[Seahorseman | 9: 32pm]: A lot of pain, it looks like my organs want to kill me  
[Sparrowkiller | 9: 33pm]: Oh, baby, this is really awful  
[Sparrowkiller | 9: 33pm ]: What are you feeling?  
The answer took a little longer this time, Genji could imagine the reason, he just didn't know if it had to do with the pain or the shyness of the other boy, he waited patiently for the three little dots to disappear and give way to the message.  
[Seahorseman | 9: 34pm]: A lot of headaches and cramps  
Wait, what?  
Genji read and reread the message a few times before frowning deeply and his thick eyebrows tightening in genuine confusion.  
[Sparrowkiller | 9: 35pm]: Cramps?  
Grace could feel his face turning redder with it, he bit his lip and put his cell phone aside for a moment before burying his face in the soft blanket and screaming in frustration. "Jesseeeeee!" he practically howled his adoptive brother's name in agony, Grace could hear Jesse's heavy footsteps running down the hall before practically breaking down the attic door, standing on the small platform with his head into the room.  
"What is it, sweetie?" he asked nervously, walking heavily to Grace and crouching in front of him "God, are you crying?" he asked worriedly.  
"It hurts too much, I need help..." he whimpered, shrinking even more. Jesse quickly understood what was going on.  
"Oh, honey, it's okay." he said, stroking his younger brother's hair, "I'm going to get you a heat bag and tea, okay?" the minor agreed "Are you crying just for the pain?" he asked, sitting with him on the bed and placing Forrest's head in his lap.  
"No..." Grace murmured weakly "I think I blew it up, I think the boy I talk to will run away if I talk to him now..."  
Jesse snorted a laugh, but stopped as soon as his brother's murderous look went up to him, McCree continued stroking his hair resignedly "I think it is better to bring chocolates too, for my own safety." sighed Jesse getting up, he crouches next to his brother once more before going “First: if he leaves because you told him, he is an idiot” enumerated the biggest “Second: I will take care of you and this will pass, all right?" McCree received a positive nod from Grace "Good, I'll be right back, darling." he said, ruffling his brother's hair.  
Grace picked up his cell phone again to answer Sparrow's last message, his icon was an angry carrot, a joke with his hair, he knew it was green, he just didn't know how green.  
[Seahorseman | 9: 46pm]: Yes, just that  
[Sparrowkiller | 9: 46pm]: Why are you cramping?  
[Seahorseman | 9: 47pm]: Because I have a womb and sometimes it's not very nice with me...  
Grace's apprehension was reflected all over his body, he was tense and was biting his lower lip hard enough to hurt the thin skin of the region a little, the typing points went up and down on the screen.  
[Sparrowkiller | 9: 48pm]: (audio message)  
Grace tensed before clicking on the icon to play the message.  
“Now I understand, now I get it! Now everything makes sense, now all the pieces fit together!” said the deepest voice imitating Bender's line from Futurama, Grace laughed "Don't worry, baby, if I were with you, I would take care of it, I hope you get better soon."  
Grace couldn't help but smile with tears overflowing his eyes with that message, he hit the audio icon to send one to Sparrow too. "My brother will take care of me today, but thanks for worrying... you are very cute, Sparrow." he said, holding back his tears.  
Jesse appeared at the door with a tray containing a cup of tea and a large peanut butter and jelly sandwich, some pills on the side of the plate.  
"Did I miss something?" asked Jesse, seeing his brother cry, but noticing his wide smile on his face.  
"He is cute." he said with a shrug.  
[...]  
Jesse still had his brother's words raw in his head.  
Of course, Forrest wasn't exactly experienced or a relationship expert - none of them were actually - but McCree knew he was right when he said the best course of action was for him to ask Hanzo out, he had managed to find Hanzo's profile in a social networking, not that it was a difficult task when there weren't many Hanzos in the region, was just a little... confusing for Jesse.  
He didn't have a phone number and one of the few pictures of Hanzo's face on his Instagram was of him with the said younger brother, he was looking uncomfortable with the green-haired boy hanging around his neck in a beige sweater and orange scarf, the older one in a navy blue shirt and his hair much longer than the one he wore now, the rest were pictures of coffees, sweets and dogs with sporadic appearances of pictures of him with his brother; his brother's name was Genji and his Instagram had many more photos. Jesse finally stopped eavesdropping before sending a message hoping Hanzo was still awake.  
@NamesMcCree: Hey, beautiful dogs you have there (10:00 pm)  
Jesse wanted to punch his own face, what was he thinking with such a stupid message, what was he? A schoolgirl? McCree snorted, he was almost erasing the message when the little dots of typing appeared on the screen and he gasped.  
@ShimadaHanzo: Thank you, they’re called Akira and Kaneda (10:03 pm)  
@ShimadaHanzo: Yours is also adorable, by the way (10:03 pm)  
McCree was confused for a moment before remembering that his profile picture was with Jefe, he laughed and shook his head.  
@NamesMcCree: For a minute I thought you were a stalker, darling(10:04 pm)  
@NamesMcCree: His name is Jefe, he's a cute old guy (10:04 pm)  
@ShimadaHanzo: I would never think of prying in your life on your own Mr. McCree, I have no intention of invading your privacy (10:05 pm)  
"Too long and too formal." Jesse muttered thoughtfully, maybe he was nervous or something, but the cowboy assumed that maybe Hanzo was naturally very tense and formal from the way they talked at the station.  
@NamesMcCree: Only Jesse is fine, sweetie (10:06 pm)  
The man's heart almost burst with the next message.  
@ShimadaHanzo: Sure, Jesse (10:06 pm)  
@NamesMcCree: So (10:06 pm)  
@NamesMcCree: I was here thinking (10:07 pm)  
@NamesMcCree: My brother liked you a lot and I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't call you to dinner one of these days 😉 (10:08 pm)  
McCree’s heart was in his hand when he sent the message.  
And Hanzo received the message with his heart in his throat.  
"Is there a problem, anija?" asked Genji, appearing in the kitchen casually while Hanzo was as red as a tomato and winking at the phone screen "Hey, Hanzo, are you okay?" he asked snapping his fingers in front of his face.  
"The cowboy from yesterday invited me to dinner." Hanzo said stiffly "What should I answer?" asked the older man, trying to formulate something less formal and more casual in his head, but all the options seemed too pompous.  
"Ooooh, give me your phone!" said Genji with a malicious smile, looking like a little demon.  
"I don't trust you with my phone." he said, dodging his younger brother's hands, Genji laughing and walking back to the freezer to keep the ice cream jar half empty in.  
"You are very boring!" sighed the green haired man leaning back on a crutch, he leaned completely on it and crossed his arms before throwing his head between them, his chin resting on the metal bar “If it takes too long to answer, he will think you give up."  
@ShimadaHanzo: It would be a pleasure to have dinner with you (10:12 pm)  
Hanzo almost threw the phone at the garbage disposal after that.  
"I am a joke doing this." he muttered, putting the phone down to get some tea.  
"You are awful, Hanzo." said Genji with an amused expression on his face, but Hanzo noticed the cell phone vibrating on the counter and the brothers looked at each other, Hanzo knew what Genji would do if he wasn't fast enough, so he abandoned everything and ran to get the device at the same time where Genji did it. He still had the advantage of speed.  
@NamesMcCree: Great, see you on Tuesday if it's okay? (10:15 pm)  
@ShimadaHanzo: Perfect, I'll send you my number (10:15 pm)  
Hanzo sent his contact and McCree sent his, he looked over his shoulder only to realize that Genji was still looking at him as if he were his moment while he saved the information in his contacts.  
@NamesMcCree: I really need to sleep now, last night was hell (10:16 pm)  
@NamesMcCree: See you around, sweetie 😉 (10:16 pm)  
“Did you miss something?” asked the older man in a bad mood when he noticed his brother hanging around his neck, “Is there nothing better to do than inspect my life? I thought you and your boyfriend were going to play tonight.” complained Hanzo shaking his shoulder to get rid of his brother.  
“Seahorse it’s not my boyfriend...” Genji replied, walking away as if it were burning to be touching Hanzo, the eldest gave a smug smile.  
"I didn't say it was him I was talking about." said Hanzo with a raised eyebrow, Genji blushed even more "Did you want him to be?"  
"Fuck you, Hanzo!" shouted the green-haired one returning to the sulky room, "You are a horrible brother, you know?" asked from somewhere that Hanzo couldn't see, he let out a chuckle.  
"Said the one who was clearly spying on my messages." replied Hanzo only to hear a snarl back.  
"Um... anija..." the voice was now low and a little hesitant, Hanzo frowned before walking to the bedroom door and peering through the opening, Genji was shaking his legs restlessly sitting on the green chair with his hands crossed on his lap, "Maybe I like him, but I don't know if he would like me." said almost too low to hear.  
"I'm sure he would like you very much, Genji." said Hanzo sitting next to his brother, "You should talk to Zenyatta about it, he can advise you a little better on this than I do."  
Genji smiled slightly, looking back at his older brother. "Yeah, I can do that..." he looks at Hanzo's phone in his hand, his smile growing "It looks like in the end you're going to have a date with the handsome cowboy, isn't it?"  
[...]  
Even with the freezing night, Gabe couldn't sleep, feeling his body burn and the pain settling in his bones.  
He needed to get up and maybe go get a glass of water from the kitchen on the lower floor, but getting up and going down the stairs felt like too much of an effort for Reyes' aching body to perform, he felt his throat aching like a flu - but he knew it wasn’t one - he could feel the air coming in through his nostrils, but not getting as far as it should go.  
Gabe had to sit on the bed, looking to the side to find Jack sleeping in his side, with back turned to him, his chest hurt a lot and he tried to hold a cough before he ended up accidentally waking up the blonde, but he couldn't, he thought it best to go to the single bathroom across the hall and stood up slowly, his legs burning with effort.  
As if the oxygen was not reaching his lungs.  
"Jack..." groaned the Latin kneeling beside the bed, "Jack, I can't..." he coughed a few times, the blonde lifted his head from the blankets and faced Gabriel on the floor, knees and hands supporting his body.  
"Gabe?" called almost jumping from the bed, Gabriel choked on the air before pressing the carpet under him between his fingers, "Gabe, what do you have?" he asked more exasperatedly, holding Reyes' shoulders to sit him on the floor and lift his head.  
"Can’t... breathe..." was all Gabriel said before another fit of coughing and wheezing snores, he was pulling the air hard and he didn't seem to get where he needed to be, Jack held his husband's face in his hands.  
"Slowly, look me in the eye, I'll call the boys, don't leave here." he said, receiving a nod in response, Gabe held the chest of the old sleeping T-shirt tightly and coughed even more.  
Jack turned on the lamp and bitterly regretted it.  
"No..." Jack covered his mouth in alarm, Gabriel was coughing up blood, "JESSE! FORREST! QUICK, I NEED HELP! ”


	4. Breath in, Breath out, Repeat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, there!  
> I know, I'm sooooo late! But it's because I had very problems with this chapter and my life was a chaos... But here I am, and I will finish this - one way or another.  
> Thanks for reading and for the patience.

They could feel the despair in Jack's words as soon as they heard them.

Jesse wasn't a light sleeper, but hearing the blonde's screams at that time of morning could never be a good sign. The cowboy practically jumped out of bed as he was and left desperately to help his parents, without even understanding what was really happening, the way to the hospital was a blur on McCree's head - and he thought it was a miracle that he didn't have caused an accident in the middle of the road - Grace was a nervous wreck walking around and back in the hall while Jack had shaking hands on his lap.

"What the hell just happened?" asked Jesse, rubbing the sides of his face as his foster brother seemed to formulate some logical explanation in his head, if he concentrated enough, Jesse would be able to hear the gears working in his brain.

"It seemed serious, I had never seen Gabe so badly, like, never... in my life." said the little green-eyed man with a restless heart in his chest.

"I don't think we have much to do now, kids." said Jack picking up the phone and texting Ana to let her know that he would need an emergency break today, "All we can do is stay calm and wait." he held out his arm for Forrest to sit with them on the chairs, "Come on, son, walking around this way won't make you come back any faster."

The youngest stared down the long ER corridor before nodding and sitting down.

"I'm scared." admitted, shrinking, Jack put his arm around the smaller boy's shoulders, "What if he... what if he dies?" he asked worriedly, McCree promptly crossed himself. 

"Jesus, Forrest, don't say such a thing..." murmured Jesse, he watched as they looked at them, three men in pajamas in the waiting room of an emergency half crowded at that time of night, "He'll be fine, darlin’, don't worry.”

"Nor do you seem so convinced of that, Jess." he said, wincing a little, Jack pulled the boy closer to his chest and started stroking his wild hair.

"Shhh, it's going to be okay, he's stubborn, he's going to come back to us before you guys even know he's gone." said Jack soothingly, "If you want to go home, you can call someone to pick you up, it looks like it will take a while here." suggested the blonde, the two boys looking at him offended.

"No, no fucking way, we're all going to be here, we're not going to leave you alone, dad." said Jesse with his arms crossed over the old, threadbare red and green plaid flannel shirt, Grace curled back on Jack's chest.

"The big guy is right, we are family, we are not going anywhere while Gabe is here, we only go out with the two of you or neither does." the minor agreed, Jack just gave in and let the two squeeze him in a hug.

The three of them stayed there for a long time, it was morning and Jesse was resting Grace's head on his lap while the boy dozed off in a frayed jacket that he hastily took from the closet as a blanket, Jack was propped up next to the water fountain at that moment when he saw the tall, red-haired family figure approaching the family with an arrogant gait. Moira O'Deorain, Gabriel's doctor, she was a slim, straight woman with short, orange hair with unmatching eyes - one blue and one brown - Jesse and Forrest didn't like her and how she seemed to treat all patients as private experiments, she smiled at them both as if it was a wonder to see them there while McCree woke his brother. If the two youngest could, they would be hissing like cats now. 

"Hello, Jack." greeted the woman, then addressing the other two, "Boys."

"Witch." said the two youngest in unison, Jack rolled his eyes at his children's lack of education.

"Sorry for them, Moira, it was a rough night." said Jack in a clear tone of rebuke to the two minors, “How's Gabriel doing? Can we see him yet?” he asked worried and hopeful.

"Ah, you don't know yet, do you?" asked Moira, Jesse inclined his head to her with interest in hearing, "Gabriel has cancer, lung, advanced stage." she said with a shrug, "I thought it was pretty obvious because of all the blood, besides, I thought it was why you brought him here so fast."

"Wait, what?" asked McCree.

Now everything made sense and at the same time nothing else seemed to fit Jesse's head, the cough, the fights over the cigarette, the lack of appetite, the lack of strength, he got tired so much faster than before... Jesse's world was crumbling under his feet and he looked to the side to find Grace with wide eyes and shallow, uneven breathing, he was having an anxiety attack the same way he had the night of the bar fight.

"Yeah, that's what you heard, unfortunately." said Moira on a sigh, Grace opening and closing his mouth without a sound coming out, "He doesn't have many possibilities now but easing the symptoms while he waits for the sweet embrace of death."  
Jack realized that the smaller one was collapsing.

"I think you had better get the news differently, Dr. O'Deorain." said Jack, "I would like to see Gabriel now, if you don't mind."

Moira smiled slightly, looking at least embarrassed by the absolute absence of tact at the delicate situation happening in front of her.

"This way, Jack." he said, leading the older man by the shoulders.

McCree grabbed Grace and took him to the opposite side of what the two had gone to, the smaller one was shaking and breathing too fast through his mouth to actually get the air where it should have been, Jesse took him to a farther part of the parking lot and put both of Grace's hands on his shoulders, holding the minor's forearms to anchor him to reality.

"Hey buddy, look at me." asked Jesse in the sweetest voice he had, "Forrest, I need you to focus on me, on my voice, darlin’." he said holding one side of the boy's face to look into his eyes, "Great, now pay attention to my voice, do you hear me right, sweetie?" asked the cowboy.  
"I'm..." he said in a meow, the little one barely managing to maintain eye contact with McCree because he was so nervous.  
"Well, now breathe, come on, inhale ..." said McCree doing it first and hoping Grace would imitate him, "And breathe out, deep." he instructed, "Well, inhale..." one, "And let go." two.

Grace followed. They stayed that way for a few minutes before the younger boy shuddered and Jesse knew what was coming before he felt his little hands dig into his back hard and Forrest's body slammed into his.

"I don't want him to die..." Grace whined, a large, heavy hand began to untangle the boy's wild curls as tears wet Jesse's old shirt. 

"None of us do, darlin’." said McCree, "None of us do." repeated the cowboy.

[...]

The diagnosis had been a thousand times worse than anything he had even imagined, for the first time in a long time, Jesse was afflicted with his father's state of health. Moira had said it was cancer as if it was nothing and it shocked all three, Grace could barely face his brother and father - both because of his breakdown and because of all the stunned state he was in now - Jesse had who dodged the two in order to process the situation for himself, he didn’t want them to see him crying so he did it hidden in a bathroom and with his flannel shirt pulled against his face.

How long had Gabe known and not counted them? Did he know he was dying and didn't say anything to them? Why?

He felt his chest tighten at the thought of losing his father, they had just reconciled and it was eating at his mind in fear and panic, he had already seen what it did to a person - what this disease did to Miranda - and he couldn't let that happen to his father either.

He looked for the number in the phonebook and hit the green icon as soon as he found it. 

"Han... hi." he said wiping tears from the back of his free hand, "I'm sorry for calling so soon."

“Jesse? Are you alright?" asked apparently too sleepy to understand what was going on.

"We can talk about this later, I really need a ride now." said the youngest, Jesse sniffled, "I'm in the hospital."

"Hospital?! What's wrong with you? Are you hurt or something?" he asked frantically, Jesse would have laughed if the situation had been less tense and painful.

"Nothing, I have nothing, it is my father... he is very sick." he explained on a sigh, "I think Jack and Forrest are going to stay here with him a little longer, but I don't feel right here." he replied, fiddling with a loose thread from his pants.

"I'm sorry for your father." he said ruefully, he leaned against the wall and sighed sadly, “Do you need anything that I can get on the way? I can have some breakfast. ” offered the Japanese, Jesse sighed.

"If you don't mind, I don't think I have the stomach for it right now, but I appreciate the offer." he said genuinely grateful, "I wish I would have called in another circumstance, but... you know what emergencies are like and you were the first person that came to mind." sniffed the cowboy.

"I'm glad you trust me for this, Jesse." said Hanzo, "Wait for me outside, I just need to change and I'll be there soon." the cowboy sighed.

"Thank you, for real." Jesse thanked the eldest, wiped away the rest of his tears and sent his location before rising from his hiding place and snapping his back. The first person he bumped into when he came out of the bathroom was his foster brother.

"I asked Jamie to stay there today, just to calm down." explained the smaller one, Forrest looked even more tiny hunched over his own shoulders as he was now, he looked as finished and dejected as any of them.

"Will you be okay there alone?" asked McCree, receiving a positive nod from the youngest, "Okay, I also need to go home, we have to keep things running with or without the old man." said the Latin.

"You don't have to pretend to me, Jesse, I know you were bad about it too." he said staring at the biggest with those piercing emerald eyes, “Don't forget that I know you well enough to know when you're running, McCree, I already had to take care of your drunk ass, it gives me more points of intimacy with you than any man or woman you have had sleep with, or will ever have in your life. ” he said with a faint sparkle of amusement in his eyes.

It looked like Grace was really getting back to normal now.

"I know, but I need my personal space, if you don't mind." said the biggest one, further messing up Grace's curly brown locks, who grunted and complained about it, "See you at home." he said goodbye, tiredly.

The smaller one gave a brief nod and then disappeared into the corridor back to the place where Gabriel's room was, Jesse didn't even manage to go to see him because he was so shaken, Forrest was right, he was running away from seeing it with his own eyes and made sure the situation was real.

That your father could die soon.

He couldn't cry now, not when Hanzo could arrive at any moment and see him as finished as he could be seen in a situation like this - that was totally off limits to himself - but as soon as he saw the black sedan car parking in the spot next to him, he knew it was his cue to enter. Jesse made a move to greet Hanzo by waving his hat, only to realize too late that he wasn't wearing it.

"Hello, darlin’." he said in a hoarse voice, the morning air was still cold in his bones and he shivered slightly at that. 

"I see you haven't slept at all." observed Hanzo waiting for the burly cowboy to settle on the seat and fasten his seat belt, "I took the liberty of bringing you a blanket, and I know you said I didn't need to, but I also brought some coffee and cookies." 

Jesse's eyes widened in surprise and he looked into the back seat of the car, finding the said items there, his stomach growling with the smell of freshly baked chocolate tips and vanilla. 

"I was going to bring a coat, but it clearly wouldn't fit." explained a little red, Jesse found that adorable.

"You can only be a hallucination." said Jesse wrapping himself in the blanket, letting out a satisfied sigh and relieved by the warmth of the fabric surrounding his cold body, "Thank you, sweetie."

"You're welcome." said Hanzo leaving the car from the parking lot and starting his way through the city streets, he would have to leave Jesse on the farm and that would yield a long journey.

Fortunately, he and the cowboy could spend time together alone with this, even though neither of them has said anything so far. Jesse took the packet of cookies and dug out the contents.

"I didn't think I was hungry until I saw this." said taking some cookies and putting them in his mouth, they melted like butter and seemed to massage his tongue with the sweet taste, Jesse found himself sighing and almost melting in the passenger seat while the policeman drove.

"I thought so, when my brother was hospitalized, I was so tense that I usually forgot to eat, I only discovered that I was hungry when a doctor or nurse offered something." he said empathetically, it was a difficult time for him.

"I think I can imagine." replied Jesse taking a sip of the drink, it wasn’t a coffee, but a cinnamon latte that matched the cookies perfectly, “I wonder how hard it must have been for you, Gabe kind of told me.” 

Hanzo nodded in agreement, "It's not like it's a secret that he's the only family I have and care about." said the Japanese, "But I don't want to bother you with this matter, we have plenty of time to get to know each other, right?" he asked, something told McCree that it was a real question.

"Certainly, yes." replied watching the streets change to the road, "It's just that when you've seen the situation once, it seems more difficult to believe, it feels like a nightmare that is happening again and I already know the ending." said the cowboy.

"Are you talking about your father's illness?" asked Hanzo, Jesse nodded, "May I ask what it is?" questioned placing his hand on Jesse's thigh, the Latin stared at his hand as if pondering the next step before placing his on top.

"We just learned that he has cancer, it was a shock for everyone because he didn't want to tell." he replied, absently stroking Hanzo's hand with his thumb.

"I'm really sorry." said holding tightly to McCree's hand, Jesse smiled sadly.

"Thanks, sweetheart." he said, returning to silence, but more comfortable this time.

It didn't take much more than five minutes between McCree and Hanzo's directions crossing the gates of Blackwatch Ranch, he parked just in front of the main house porch and turned off the car, Jesse still holding his hand and eyes fixed on an invisible spot on the floor, the Japanese man was worried, but it wasn't like he could do more than that. Jesse sighed before loosening his seat belt and giving Hanzo a sad smile. 

"Here we are." he said, unwinding himself from the thin blanket and folding it over his arm to return to the back seat.

"Yes." said Hanzo, "Uh, Jesse?" called the elder, McCree glared, "I was wondering if you still think it's a good idea to meet for dinner, if you want?" he suggested, Jesse looked shocked at first, but a smile grew on his lips.

"I would still love it, sweetie." he said with a smile.

"You can call me if you need anything, really anything." the Japanese shook Jesse's hand one last time, the cowboy leaned towards the driver's seat and kissed Hanzo on the cheek, the black-haired one was disconcerted by this, but kept his posture.

"Thank you very much, Hanzo." The Japanese name sounded like music in Jesse's voice, the Latin man walked away and got out of the car, leaving behind a totally decompensated policeman thinking he was imagining it

As soon as he realized he was alone, Jesse felt safe enough to burst into tears clinging to the red and embroidered poncho that was in his late mother's trunk.

[...] 

Genji was waiting for his doctor and friend at a cafe close to home. 

The cafe was relatively quiet - even more so in a small town and on the weekend - and it was one of the few that actually had a varied menu of pastries and cakes, as well as a plethora of teas and coffees you could imagine, Hanzo used to say that it was the only place with a decent strawberry cake that he had eaten since they moved out of Japan - and it was the closest decent that Hanzo would admit to liking something. Zenyatta was one of his few friends and he felt awkward about it, the people he lived with most were either from the hospital or from his online games.

"You seem distracted today, Genji." said the man with the shaved head, sitting in front of Genji at the table, Zenyatta was a little older than him and much thinner, he was not that big and he had smooth features.

"You have no idea, Sensei." he said with his cheek in his hand, he had barely looked into his friend's face yet. 

"You are usually not so crestfallen, something is bothering you and I can feel it in you, what happened?" he asked casually, Genji sighed now facing the other man, he was wearing a wide white shirt and a yellow beaded string. 

"I am... having date problems." he summarized seeing the owner, Mei, approach the two in their fluffy green and orange uniform with two menus.

"This is new, I thought things were under control in relation to this." Zenyatta seemed amused by this, although it was difficult to say with his neutral expression. 

"Hello boys! Feel free to choose calmly, today is a good day for a delicious glass of macha with milk, if I may suggest! ” said the Chinese cheerfully smiling, Genji and Zenyatta smiled back. 

"Thank you very much, Miss Zhou." said the elder, taking the menu with a wave, Genji murmured a “thank you”.

"Not exactly." replied the green-haired one in a sigh, he scratched the table top with his nails, "I think I finally ended up being hooked, but I don't even know him."

"I said it was a bad idea for you to sign up for a dating app." scolded Zenyatta receiving an uncomfortable look from Genji, "Unless it wasn't on one of those apps, I suppose?" he asked curiously, the youngest gave a nervous laugh. 

"Actually... it was playing online..." he said scratching the back of his neck, the monk looked at him in surprise. 

"You are really surprising me here, my student." he said with his hands crossed under his chin. 

Genji snorted, choosing what he would order. "It was a surprise for everyone... there is only one problem." replied the Japanese man, lowering the menu. 

"Does it bother you that this person is a boy?" Zenyatta asked confused. 

"What? Of course not, you know I never really cared about it, you know me, Zen.” he smiled provocatively, "I never refuse anything, if you know what I mean."

The monk took a deep breath, "I should imagine." he murmured calmly. 

"You know, your mother never said that it is ugly to refuse food without tasting it before?" he asked maliciously, the Nepalese pinched the bridge of his nose in disbelief. 

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that for the sake of my own sanity." he said in outrage as Genji laughed behind his menu. 

The Japanese man was having a great time seeing his doctor and friend totally decompensated with a joke like that, Genji usually used this to tease the older man until they were laughing - which was very rare - he then heard the doorbell ringing loudly when two other customers entered the cafe when the Chinese woman was taking her orders: a spice tea with milk for Zenyatta with a vegetarian vegetable pie and a large glass of cappuccino for Genji with a generous piece of brownie with nuts.  
"I'm saying mate, I would kill for bubble tea today, you know I can't resist those things." said the tallest, a blond with very spiky hair standing in a black tank top and very wrecked denim shorts. 

"Of course I know, Jamie, you haven't stopped shaking me for a second talking about it." The smallest laughed, a dark haired man with messy and slightly long hair, he wore a large denim jacket and black sweatpants with all stars of the same color, the back of the jacket had a huge embroidered jellyfish.

"You should get one too, it's really good!" suggested Jamie said practically jumping in front of the counter, "Meeei, we need your wonderful service, the little guy here had a bad day." 

"Hello, Jamison." greeted Mei while preparing and heating orders from his previous customers, "Hello, Forrest, how long!" said the woman, turning to them and placing the dishes on the counter. 

"I really didn't have much time to come here before." said with a small shy smile, Genji felt something itch in his mind, he knew that voice from somewhere, it was too familiar to ignore. 

They got up to take the orders at the coffee counter and save Mei all the trouble of keeping the two boys waiting to bring the dishes to him and Zenyatta, Genji just didn't expect that she was already preparing the boys' orders and when she was almost there arriving at the counter, Grace quickly turned around without looking back and bumped into it, accidentally covering them both with a large glass of chococcinno. 

"Oh shit! I'm sorry, I'm really sorry!” the little one shouted quickly, grabbing paper napkins for the two of them to clean up. 

"I'm the one who apologizes, damn it, what a mess." replied Genji, balancing himself to clean the orange and white jacket he wore. 

"I am a disaster!" said the two in unison, stopping to face each other while Mei appeared behind them with a mop. 

Genji's brown eyes met Grace's green and the two suddenly felt shy, Zenyatta had to move the green-haired one away from the counter so that the Chinese woman could clean the puddle of coffee and chocolate that formed under their feet. Grace was very sad when he realized that he hadn't even sipped his drink before it was spread out on the floor. 

"It's okay, boys, don't worry, it happens." said the woman, Jamison nodding in agreement with her.

"Yeah, look, it's okay, we buy you another one, mate." said the blonde, patting the boy on the shoulders, Grace was still cleaning his jacket with napkins. 

"I paid, it was my fault." Genji offered to take his wallet and take out a note for both of them, "You can keep the change, and I'm sorry again." repeated the Japanese, seeing the young man's cheeks getting redder.

"Ah, thank you." replied awkwardly, Zenyatta took the plates and Grace and Jamison their drinks before leaving the cafe, leaving the other two boys alone at their table before.

Genji still felt the gears in his head working fiercely to remember where he heard that voice before, but he left the thought as soon as the brownie was in his mouth.

As soon as they were far enough from the cafe, Jamison looked at Grace with the straw still in his mouth, looking at him curiously as they walked towards the hospital where Gabe was still under observation, the Fawkes lived a few blocks after the building.

“So, that guy was quite an asshole! He bumped you and even made you drop your coffee on the floor, if it were me, I would have made it lick drop by drop! ” said Jamison very loudly, Grace laughed nervously. 

"He apologized, Jamie, and he also paid for the coffee, I can't just curse this guy." he said taking a sip from his glass, the blonde's eyes narrowed against Grace. 

"Hm, I know, this is bullshit if you ask me, I wouldn't mind hitting a guy even if he uses crutches." he said crossing his free arm while the other one hung loosely with the glass in his hand. 

"Jamie, I already had my share of fights over the weekend... besides, I think I know him from somewhere." he said, scratching his face, his cheeks flushing.

“Hmmm, you found him cute, didn't you? What would your boyfriend think about that? ” he asked, poking Grace's side, the smaller one flinched. 

“I already told you that Sparrow is not my boyfriend, damn it! I don't even know his name! ” he replied in exasperation. 

"And then your brother is the social stranger." he said, taking a noisy sip of his bubble tea.


	5. Family reunion

Jesse was really disconsolate. 

The cowboy had spent the last thirty minutes sitting on the bedroom floor with his back against the door and his head buried in the dusty smelling fabric of a closet, his eyes were swollen from crying and his head was throbbing a little, but he couldn't Staying here all day - no matter how much he wanted now - did he have tasks to do, if not that all the talk he gave his brother about keeping things going even without Gabriel would do him good? He would be a hypocrite if he didn't at least try to keep the house in order. 

He wrapped the poncho around his shoulders as he remembered seeing his mother doing when she was still alive, took a change of clothes and changed as soon as possible before going to the pens, today an entire herd of young cows was scheduled to arrive and he had to ensure that they were all comfortable in their fields before noon, he should prepare the horses and ask one of the employees to accompany him, however small a herd, they should never work alone. The black and white plaid shirt and his light, shabby jeans were going to do for today and Jesse wasn't in the mood to really think about an outfit. 

"Good morning, my sweet old man." said greeting the old German shepherd who was lying on the doorstep, he just snored and raised his ears to Jesse and then turned his head around, "Lazy." laughed the Latin man rubbing between the dog's ears and saw his tail wag happily. 

Jefe got up and stretched to accompany his owner on his household chores, Jesse wanted to check something before everything he had to do and that thing was nothing more and nothing less than his demonic horse, Reaper, who was agitated that morning. 

The animal was pacing and Baptiste couldn't understand what was wrong with him.

“Hey, Jean! What happened to my horse? ” asked McCree as he approached the vet, Baptiste turned to meet Jesse's eyes on him. 

"I don't know, he seems restless, I mean, more than usual since the time I arrived." said finishing of filling the feed in the animal's trough, "There is something different in the air today." 

"Apparently it wasn't just him who felt it, was it?" said Jesse jumping on the fence and jumping into the pen where Reaper was being held, "Woow, eeeeasy, big boy!" the cowboy stretched his arms out to the sides and waited for the stallion to approach, huffing and shaking his head, "What do you have?" he asked feeling Reaper sniff him and rub his muzzle on the side of his head. 

Baptiste was surprised to see the animal showing so much affection for McCree, Jesse grabbed the horse's head against his chest and felt the animal snort several times in its belly, each slower and more relaxed than the other, he raised his hand to his forehead and removed the thick black hair from the horse's eyes in order to look at them. Reaper was standing there, practically immobile as Jesse felt his hearts slowing and calming, he closed his eyes and felt every sound and smell around him. 

He could feel the horse's breath on his body, the heartbeat, the heat radiating from his fur, the hooves occasionally kicking and stomping the land below them. Jesse kissed the horse's forehead several times before feeling he was calmer and he couldn't tell if he calmed Reaper or he calmed him. 

"I was worried, too, buddy." said breathing in the same rhythm as the horse, Reaper slammed against his chest and Jesse laughed, "I know, I know... he'll be fine." said Jesse, leaning his forehead fully against the animal's, stroking its muzzle and neck, "They must think I'm crazy, talking to a horse." 

Reaper snorted as if he was offended and pushed McCree hard forward and out of his arms, Jesse laughed before walking away and jumping over the fence back to where Baptiste and Jefe were still. 

"You are really the only person that this demon lets take care of him, if I had tried to do that, he would have trampled me until there was nothing left." said the Haitian, stroking Jefe's side, the dog with his tongue hanging out and enjoying the affection. 

"I have a way with horses." said Jesse with a shrug simply.

The peace between them did not last long until a huge black SUV appeared in their field of vision, entering and going up the dusty road that led to the main gates of the farm, Jesse ground his teeth when he was able to see the approaching vehicle better. from afar and recognized the huge truck. 

It could only belong to one person. 

And only one person would have such audacity to enter the Blackwatch gates without being invited. 

"What is this guy doing here?" snarled McCree, seeing the huge black glossy truck coming through the gates, the other farm employees confused by the sudden invasion. 

A black-skinned man in a white suit stepped out of the car, and what appeared to be his assistant stepped down. "Jesse McCree, I was hoping to find someone else today." the cowboy narrowed his eyes and locked his jaw. 

He knew this man. 

“What do you want here, Akande? Wasn't that enough of rejection about the Blackwatch sale? Or do you want more public humiliation this time? ” asked Jesse, approaching the man. 

Akande Ogundimu was at least a good head taller than Jesse and much more beefy and muscular, the man owned a farm conglomerate called Talon and they were one of the largest grain producers in the region, he was no longer the first and most likely it wouldn't be the last time he tried to enter the Blackwatch Farm and leave with his deed in hand, but both he and Gabriel were adamant about the sale. 

If he was here in person, it was because it was important or he was desperate. 

"I heard about your father, a great tragedy, really." said walking calmly and looking around, Jean crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes, “And look who's here? I thought you were going to run back to us when you didn't get any better, but it looks like you were wrong.” 

The Haitian clenched his fists where he held the light green shirt he wore, McCree put his hand in front of Baptiste before he said anything. 

"First, Akande, my father is very much alive, thank you very much." he said between teeth, "And second, he's not yet in a grave for you to appear here talking as if he were." Jesse approached with slow, calculated steps, eyes fixed on the white suit man, “And as for Baptiste here, he's been our best man since he arrived, and if you don't want to get punched in the face, I suggest a little more of respect. ” 

Akande laughed at the minor and just walked around him, Baptiste had to hold Jesse's arm before he went on top of the other man. "I was just kidding, kid, but it looks like he's going to end up working for me one way or the other, when this place is mine." 

"Only in your dreams, Akande." said Augustin, letting go of Jesse's arm, the cowboy adjusted his shirt as he watched the ex-fighter walk around the property as if evaluating the place, "If you're looking for our boss, he's not." Jean put his body in front of Akande and McCree imitated him. 

"And even if he was, the answer is still no." replied Jesse, the Ogundimu nodded and went back to his black truck followed by his assistant, Jean took a deep breath before shaking his head. 

"For now, you mean, Jesse McCree." the powerful voice said over the engine, "When you're desperate for money, let's talk again." Akande completed before leaving with the truck of his property. 

When the huge vehicle left the Blackwatch gates, Jesse realized that he and Jean-Baptiste were still standing side by side in thoughtful silence that he was confused about breaking or not. 

"So, did you work for them?" asked Jesse, the Haitian sighed heavily. 

"Yes." he said looking embarrassed, "I worked there for a few months, but their work ethic was not for me." explained himself. 

"And do you regret it?" McCree asked. 

"Every day." replied Jean. 

[...] 

Days like that were always Genji's personal hell, they were the days when he spent almost the whole day in the hospital and surrounded by needles and electrodes and wires connected throughout his body, it was painful and even more painful when he the physiotherapy section was over, the green-haired Japanese man felt like he was going nowhere with all that. It had been just over a year and a half, almost closing the second, but he could barely sit alone after the accident. 

He felt like an invalid and a burden on everyone's life. 

"Fucking shit!" he shouted, hurling the bottle in his hand with all his strength, the water bottle bounced on the floor and rolled close to Zenyatta's feet. 

"Come on, Genji, take a step, you can do this yourself." said Mondatta, Zenyatta's brother, both were very similar, they looked like identical twins if Genji didn't know he was the older brother. 

"I can not." snarled the youngest, his hands shaking as he tried to force his body up, "It doesn't work, it doesn't work!" he shouted in frustration, he had barely managed to reach half the bars today and the older one was insisting that he take a few steps alone. 

"I think that is enough for today, brother." said Zen intervening, Genji sighed in relief and dropped almost violently where he was sitting "He's exhausted." Genji rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, tears insisting on rolling at one time or another. "It is prudent for you to rest today, Genji." said Zenyatta, sitting next to her on a bench. 

The Japanese man snorted, walking seemed so simple before the accident - just put one foot in front of the other and repeat - and now that was the most painful task he could do on the day, "I will, sensei." he said with his eyes fixed on the floor, Zenyatta helped him to get up and change in the locker room before going home. 

The way was like any normal Sunday. 

Hanzo picked him up right after work, but he seemed a little more dispersed and less grouchy than usual with his bitter personality - even with that little frown of concern in the corner of his mouth - and Genji figured it might have something to do with his sudden trip to Mei's coffee that morning, he knew it had something to do with that man that Hanzo had told him. 

So he had arranged with Zen to meet him before his physiotherapy section (read torture): Hanzo was not at home and could not take him. 

That reminded him of something else, he hadn't seen his cell phone vibrate all day and he didn't know if Seahorse was okay, he wanted to tell the boy about the accident at the cafe and how his day only escalated in successive uncomfortable situations from there, he just he wanted to arrive in the safety of his home and sink into the soft pillows of his bed. 

[Seahorseman | 1: 40pm]: Hi  
[Seahorseman | 1: 40pm]: Sparrow, something very bad happened  
[Seahorseman | 1: 42pm]: Papa is in the hospital, we are really bad  
[Seahorseman | 2: 40pm]: I hope that be all right  
[Seahorseman | 2: 41pm]: Really, I'm worried  
[Seahorseman | 2: 50pm]: If you don't answer the messages, I'll put the police behind you! > :(  
[Message deleted]  
[Seahorseman | 3: 02pm]: I had cursed you, I'm sorry!  
[Seahorseman | 3: 03pm]: I forgot that today was your medical evaluation  
[Seahorseman | 3: 04pm]: I'm sorry, please don't be upset  
[Seahorseman | 3: 05pm]: Call me when you can talk :(

That was an hour ago and Seahorse had checked WhatsApp just a few minutes ago, Genji was shocked by all those messages.

"it's your boyfriend?" asked Hanzo, curious, Genji sighed reading the last four messages. 

"Yeah..." he gets flushed when he realizes that gave the wrong answer by Hanzo's smile widening even more, "I mean no! No, Seahorse is not--- " 

"It's not your boyfriend, I understood the last fourteen times that you said that." replied the older one. 

That situation was already getting ridiculous and Genji knew it as much as Hanzo or anyone his closest friends, he could no longer deny that there was anything between him and his mysterious friend, but how could he be in love with someone without ever seeing his face and who never even asked his real name? This was a complicated situation, but he was the hindrance himself. 

Leaving those thoughts aside, his spine hurt a lot with all the effort he had done today, especially moving around with his crutches for so long, he put the phone plugged into his charger and sighed tiredly before lying in bed, luckily the the outlet was close enough that he could use the device while charging, he thought it was a good idea to call his friend. 

It didn't take more than a few rings for the older man to answer. 

"Hey, hi." said the Japanese sweetly. 

"Thank God, it's you." replied Seahorse's voice, looking relieved, "I thought something had happened, you don't usually stay out all day without sending a message." the boy sighed. 

Genji sighed too. "It's just that today was the monthly check... it was hell." he said cowering in bed, "I just got home, I was very worried about you, I got your messages." the Japanese bit his lip before proceeding, "How is your father?" 

"My father?" the Englishman needed a moment and a sigh to calm down and answer the question, "He is very sick, but we are trying to find a way out for him, looking for doctors..." the younger one also looked very worried, "And how are you?” 

Seahorseman knew that his day when this happened was always the worst possible. 

"Not well, to tell you the truth." said Genji sincerely. The Japanese thought that the call had dropped before he realized that the photo of the coffee cup was still on the screen and just like the little green blinking banner to show that they were still calling, "Seahorse?" 

"Open your Spotify, I sent you something there that you need to hear, I always listen to this song when I feel sad." said the boy, his voice suggesting a smile. 

Genji immediately looked around for his notebook somewhere in the mess of his room and found it - luckily - near his bed, he opened the application tab and then the messages and notifications, the Japanese was initially confused by what he saw on the tab for not thinking it was your friend's usual music, but he clicked anyway. 

When the song started, he understood why Seahorseman wanted him to hear it. 

Turn your face towards the sun  
Let the shadows fall behind you  
Don't look back, just carry on  
And the shadows will never find you 

Turn your face towards the sun  
Let the shadows fall behind you  
Don't look back, just carry on  
And the shadows will never find you 

Lost in the rock and roll  
Got lost in a promise of a love I never know  
(Oh, oh)  
Shadows chase me far from home  
I remember when my heart was filled with gold  
(Oh, oh)  
And you know  
I've been burned, I've been burned, I've been burned  
You've seen me lose control  
It's not worth, it's not worth, it's not worth  
My soul 

Turn your face towards the sun  
Let the shadows fall behind you  
Don't look back, just carry on  
And the shadows will never find you 

Lost my faith and trust  
You and I know gold don't turn to rust  
(Oh, oh)  
I still swear that we can reign  
Like the kings and queens of better yesterdays  
(Oh, oh)  
Don't you know  
I've been burned, I've been burned, I've been burned  
You've seen me lose control  
It's not worth, it's not worth, it's not worth  
My soul 

Turn your face towards the sun  
Let the shadows fall behind you  
Don't look back, just carry on  
And the shadows will never find you 

Where you gonna go, where you gonna go  
Where you gonna run to  
When you get to the edge of the night?  
It's time you face the sky, ooh 

Turn your face towards the sun  
Let the shadows fall behind you  
Don't look back, just carry on  
And the shadows will never find you 

Turn your face towards the sun  
Let the shadows fall behind you  
Don't look back, just carry on  
And the shadows will never find you 

Turn your face towards the sun  
Let the shadows fall behind you

When the song ended, Genji's face was wet with tears and the call hadn't even ended yet. 

"What's up? Did you like it? Please say that you are not angry or upset...” begged him, Genji wanted to kiss the boy right now and tell him that he was the most precious thing in his life. 

"Thanks baby." said Genji, "Thank you, I don't even know how to thank you." he swallowed. 

"Buy me a coffee and we're even." the elder laughed, he seemed so happy simply with Genji's happiness that he was sweet and touching in all the ways he knew. 

"Friday then?" the youngest said without even thinking, he could hear the other man holding his breath. 

“Forrest, who are you talking to there? Oh my ---” he heard a female voice call. 

Forrest? 

So that was the name of the mysterious player? 

Before Genji could have an answer, the call had already ended and the boy just disappeared, he recognized that voice... 

"Wait... Hana?!" shouted Genji, eyes wide, “Does Hana know Seahorse? And you never told me?” choked the youngest. 

Hanzo soon appeared at the door without understanding anything, Genji staring at the phone with his eyebrows so furrowed that they looked just like a long line over his younger brother's narrow eyes. "Is there a problem, Otouto?" asked Hanzo confused, Genji shook the phone up and down in his hand. 

"I think I know who knows Seahorseman." he replied thoughtfully. 

[...] 

Gabriel was nervous about the conversation that he knew they needed to have among themselves. 

He and Jack were in silence close to the embarrassment inside the car and Gabriel was starting to feel that this was the worst thing that could happen now, Jack was staring at the road in front of them and he was not turning them away, the Latin she put her hand on his thigh and Jack seemed to jump with a barely contained fright, but then relaxed.

Cariño." called Gabriel, "I'm sorry that you had to find out like that, really, I don't even know where to start apologizing to you or the boys." began the Mexican, Jack quickly looked away from Gabe, returning to the road in the next moment. 

"I don't want any excuses about this, Gabe, I wanted you to trust me to tell me about this, the same way I trust you." he said wincing, he had to stop the car at the side of the road, "By God, if anything happened to you, me and the boys would be devastated!" 

"I know, I was an idiot." admitted Reyes, "Me and Jesse have been through this before, I know it would be scary for him and I wanted to save you and the boys from seeing what I saw from Miranda." he said with a sigh. 

"And did you prefer to die instead of asking for help?" asked Jack angrily, his fist clenching and hitting Reyes's chest hard, "Is that what you wanted, Gabriel?!" 

"No, it was not!" he exclaimed, startled, holding Jack's hands gently, the blonde starting to give way and bent over the passenger seat, crying, "Jackie..." 

"We're going to look for a second opinion, whether you want to or not, I won't let you die like that.” he said sobbing, Gabriel trying to comfort him as best he could, "You don't even dare." 

"You are very optimistic if you think you can get rid of me that easy, Jack." said Gabriel laughing, getting punched in the thigh as a punishment, "Ouch!" 

"You don't even think about playing that kind of joke in front of me now, Gabriel Reyes, or I swear to God I break every bone in your body." he said angrily, Gabe laughed even more. 

"Oh, don't be like that, cariño." he said bending over Jack to kiss his cheek, the goatee tickling his skin as Jack tried to push his face away with his hands, "I'll see that second opinion you said, but these things cost money, Jack, and that's one thing that we don't have that much now.” 

Jack sighed, giving in to the affection Gabriel was giving him. "Yeah, I know, that's why we need to talk to the boys as soon as we get home." said Morrison, hunched over, forgetting for a second where they were. 

"Let's leave worries about things at home for when we get home, Jackie, I know you're exhausted, I wouldn't mind driving home." Gabriel offered a compassionate look to his husband. 

Jack rubbed his eyes, he hadn't even had time to cry everything he had stuck in his chest and it was like he was going to explode at any moment if he was alone or in silence, the blonde sat again with his back against the back of the bench and started to cry, Gabriel hugged him and they stayed like that until Jack was able to speak again without being sobbing. 

The Latin was absently humming in Spanish, something that Jack didn't even understand the words, but fully understood the tone he was using with himself, the same tone he used every time they were just enjoying each other's company on sunny and lazy summer afternoons on the porch, or when he wanted to calm Jack down after a particularly difficult call. 

"Everything will be fine, mi amor, everything will be fine, I promise for the soul of my lovely mother." said Reyes kissing the top of Jack's blond hair, the youngest rubbed his face against Gabriel's biceps. 

"Poor soul, it is doomed." said Jack playfully, Gabriel rolled his eyes. 

"I thought the jokes about it were banned." grunted, patting him on the back, Jack disengaged himself from Gabriel's arms. 

"For you, yes, that doesn't apply to me, however." said Jack, poking the tip of his husband's nose with his finger, Gabe laughed sarcastically, but his sulk didn't last much longer than until the moment Jack stole a kiss from his lips. 

The rest of the way was quietly quiet, with Gabriel taking the wheel - stubbornly, by the way - and Jack holding his hand tightly as if he would escape if he let go - even though Gabriel insisted that he needed both hands to drive their car.

"Ready to talk to them?" Jack asked as soon as they were parked outside the main house.

"Ready when you are, cariño." said Gabriel kissing Jack's face. 

They got out of the car and went into the house. 

[...]

As soon as Forrest arrived with Hana and Lúcio, Jesse knew that he had something strange with his younger brother, the Korean was looking quite guilty in his opinion - even if the Brazilian did not share the same aura of guilt, he really seemed oblivious to the subject - and when their eyes met before he entered the door, Jesse knew that this should be a subject for another time. 

"We brought him safely and intact, as promised." said the youngest with a wide smile and a hand on Grace's back, the smallest looked at Jesse and the largest understood the hint.

"Okay, thanks, but you don't need all of that." said Jesse holding Forrest's shoulder and leading him inside, Lúcio gave a two-finger greeting at the temple and then into the air, "Still, thanks, boys." 

"De nada! Oh, you’re welcome." said Lúcio, he throws something at the smallest of the three, "To see if it cheers you up a little." 

"Is that a pachimari key charm?" asked the confused Englishman, looking at the key ring in his hands. Lúcio just nodded. 

“Yeah, how do you know? I thought it was cute and you look sad since we left, so... you're welcome!” he said with an even brighter smile, the dreads swaying with the little jumps he gave in place. 

"Thanks, Lu, really." said Grace with a small smile, McCree still analyzing the situation, Hana remained silent and looking guilty in her corner. 

"Look, Forrest, I wanted to apologize." said the girl approaching the Englishman, "I didn't want to do that, I didn't know it was a subject... delicate for you." 

Forrest sighed, seeming to consider the girl's words, he held out his arms to her and Hana hugged him, "I'm not mad at you, Hana, really." he said in a calmer voice, they both stood at the door for a while before they heard Jamison's horn honking loudly at the gate. 

"Still friends?" asked Hana. 

"Always, Hans." said Forrest, shaking the girl, "Thanks for letting me stay there until things calm down." 

"That’s nothing, all for our friend." said Lúcio, joining the embrace. 

The three said goodbye briefly after they separated and Jamison took them back to the city, Jesse however was curious. 

"Hey." called McCree before the youngest disappeared on the stairs, "What happened between you and Hana?" asked the confused cowboy, Grace looked at the ceiling and then at Jesse, as if considering what to answer about the question. 

"After dinner I explain, now we have other things to worry about." he said, slowly going up the stairs again. 

As soon as Gabriel was home and safe, Jack demanded a family reunion. 

"You know why I want to talk to you all, don't you?" asked Jack as soon as Jesse, Gabe and Forrest were sitting with him at the table, "Starting with you Gabe, why did you lie to us?" 

Gabriel lowered his head and scratched his cheek, a little uncomfortable with that subject and knowing exactly where Jack was going. "Jackie, with all due respect, I didn't want any of you to be involved in this." replied the Mexican, Jesse narrowed his eyes at his father. 

“And when did you intend to tell us? When did he die? ” asked Jesse, from the face his father gave him, it looked like he had hit the bull's-eye, "You can only be kidding me." he said between his teeth. 

"Hijo, I never wanted to give any of you work, and that's how life is, parents die before their children, people die all the time." replied with a shrug, the look Jack gave him said he had given the most wrong answer of all possible choices. 

"Did you think that when Mama died?" cut Jesse sarcastically. 

Gabriel swallowed, his lip quivering in the corner when he answered. "No, I didn't think this." 

"Then why should I think that about you, old man?" Jesse's eyes were fixed on his father, Gabriel looked away and wiped a stubborn tear out of the corner of his eye. 

"And what was your plan?" asked Jack, “Were you just going to do what Moira said and die in front of us, hoping no one would notice and leave us like this? Without explanation and with a pile of debt?” 

"Of course not, damn it!" replied Gabriel, punching the table, the three got scared and jumped with it, "I am negotiating to sell the farm to the Talon Conglomerate." 

That explained why Akande was there in the morning before everyone else. 

"What?" they asked at the same time, Jesse jumped up from the table and started shouting in Spanish, “¿Volverse loco? ¿Quieres que nos sintamos aquí y aceptemos que mueres así? ¿Y vender todo lo que tienes a estos tipos que van a destruirlo todo y plantar quién sabe qué?" 

"Jesse, in a language that everyone understands, please." asked Jack with all the rest of the self-control he still had. 

"He can't sell the farm to a lot of fuckers in suits who have never even stepped into a pen full of cow shit!" said McCree, still out of balance, Jack tapped the table with his palm. 

"Language, Jesse, for God's sake!" scolded the blonde, the brunette threw himself back in the chair. 

Jesse sighed heavily. 

"I have my savings." said Forrest in a minimal voice, as if he suddenly felt like a mouse at the dinner table, “I've been saving it for a while, at first it was all about being able to get out of here as quickly as possible and not disturb you, but then you and Jack offered the attic and said they would take care of everything I needed... and adopt me. ” the boy scratched behind his arm. 

Gabriel just looked at the smaller one, he was really confused by the whole money thing. "For… for how long have you been keeping this, niño?" he asked in shock. 

"Since the first payment, I've never spent more than a hundred dollars and Jesse's clothes have always fit well." he said with a shrug, "Maybe I have about eighty thousand in my account now, I would keep it until I could do my surgery or pay for the treatment myself." he said looking embarrassed. 

Jesse's jaw dropped, dropping the toothpick he had in his mouth in the process. 

Gabe's eyes filled with tears like two pools of shiny tar. "No, I can't accept that, and even then, there would be a lot more money left, boys." he said, trying to swallow the cry. 

"Oh, shut up." said Jesse, rolling his eyes at his father, "It's the least we can do after all the work you had to raise us and all that." the cowboy took another toothpick out of his pocket, Forrest made a disgusted face at that, “What's more, the regional stages are coming, I can sign up for a rodeo again; right?" 

All eyes on the table turned to him and none of them seemed happy with what McCree said. 

"Jesse, you promised you would never ride a bull again, it was the deal, we almost lost you." said Jack, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“And you almost lose your arm! Open fracture, or did you forget everything that happened in Houston? ” asked Grace, something told him it was a rhetorical question.

"Of course, the Houston Rodeo," thought McCree, "How could I forget the last time I rode a bull?"

Jesse sighed again and took his hat off his head to throw it on the table, "I'm not going to break my promise, but I didn't say I had to ride a bull, did I?" asked with a singing smile, Forrest stared at him with eagle eyes, "I'm going to compete in horse racing."

"Oh yeah? And with what horse? ” asked Gabriel.

"Reaper, what else?" replied McCree.

Now they all looked as if Jesse who had really gone crazy.


End file.
